A novel red phosphor of seven-coordinated Mn4+ ion-doped tridecafluorodizirconate Na5Zr2F13 for warm WLEDs

Herein, a novel red phosphor based on seven-coordinated Mn4+ ion-doped tridecafluorodizirconate, Na5Zr2F13 (NZF), has been synthesized by stirring a mixture of K2MnF6, NaF, and H2ZrF6 at room temperature. The crystal structure and morphology of the as-obtained phosphor NZF:Mn have been determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The composition and distribution of Mn4+ ions in NZF have been confirmed by energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and element mapping via transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The phosphor NZF:Mn exhibits a strong zero phonon line (ZPL) at 616 nm under excitation of blue light from a GaN light-emitting diode (LED) chip; this is attributed to the low symmetry of Mn4+ ions occupied in a seven-coordinated environment. The luminescence intensity of NZF:Mn has been optimized by controlling the synthesis procedure and synthetic parameters. The luminescence mechanism of the red phosphor NZF:Mn has been investigated according to the detailed experimental results. A warm white light has been produced by a WLED fabricated with the red phosphor NZF:Mn and the commercial yellow phosphor Y3Al5O12:Ce3+ (YAG:Ce) on a GaN LED chip.