Sb3 + and Mn2+ co-doped Cs2CdCl4 phosphors for tunable white-light emission and multifunctional applications

Conventional white light-emitting diodes often suffer from low color rendering index and high correlated color temperature due to the lack of red emission. Here, we report novel rare-earth-free Cs 2 CdCl 4 : Sb 3+ , Mn 2+ phosphors synthesized via a cost-effective co-precipitation route. The dual-emission behavior arises from Sb 3+ -related self-trapped excitons (green) and the characteristic 4 T 1 (G)→ 6 A 1 (S) transition of Mn 2+ (orange). Spectroscopic and time-resolved studies reveal an efficient Sb 3+ →Mn 2+ energy transfer process, governed by a dipole-quadrupole interaction. By adjusting Mn 2+ concentration, tunable emission spanning green to orange is achieved, enabling single-component white light generation. In addition, the strong concentration and excitation-dependent emission characteristics suggest potential applications in areas such as multidimensional information encryption and optical anti-counterfeiting. This work provides a low-cost, rare-earth-free strategy for designing multifunctional phosphors for high-quality lighting and security technologies.