White‐Emitting Tuning and Energy Transfer in Eu2+/Mn2+‐Substituted Apatite‐Type Fluorophosphate Phosphors

Herein, a series of Eu²⁺&Mn²⁺substituted fluorophosphates Ca₆Gd₂Na₂(PO₄)₆F₂ phosphor with apatite structure have been synthesized and investigated by the powder X‐ray diffraction, photoluminescence spectra, fluorescence decay curves, thermal quenching, and chromaticity properties. Particularly, both Eu²⁺ and Mn²⁺ emissions at the two different lattice sites 4f and 6h in Ca₆Gd₂Na₂(PO₄)₆F₂ matrix have been identified and discussed. The dual energy transfer of Eu²⁺→Mn²⁺ and Gd³⁺→Mn²⁺ in Ca₆Gd₂Na₂(PO₄)₆F₂:Eu²⁺,Mn²⁺ samples have been validated and confirmed by the photoluminescence spectra. The dependence of color‐tunable on the activator concentration of Mn²⁺ was investigated to realize white light emission. By varying the doping concentration of the Mn²⁺ ion, a series of tunable colors including pure white light and candle light are obtained under the excitation of 350 nm. Moreover, the fluorescence decay curves have been fitted and analyzed using the Inokuti–Hirayama theoretical model to estimate the Eu–Mn interaction mechanism. We also investigated temperature‐dependent photoluminescence quenching characteristics according to the Arrhenius equation. Preliminary studies on the properties of the phosphor indicated that the obtained phosphors might have potential application as a single‐component white‐emitting phosphor for UV‐based white LEDs.