The synthesis and photoluminescence of a single-phased white-emitting NaAlSiO4: Ce3+, Mn2+ phosphor for WLEDs

•A series of color-tunable NaAlSiO4: Ce3+, Mn2+ phosphors were synthesized.•The excitation band from 250 to 400 nm matches well with the available UV chips.•White emission was obtained by adjusting the concentration of Mn2+ in the phosphors.

A series of blue-to-white emitting phosphors NaAlSiO4: Ce3+, Mn2+ were synthesized via a high-temperature solid-state method. The obtained phosphors exhibited a broad excitation band from 250 to 400 nm peaking at 350 nm, matching well with the available UV chips. Under the excitation of 350 nm, a broad green–blue emission band peaking at 430 nm and an orange–red emission band at 590 nm were observed due to the f–d transition of Ce3+ and the 4T1–6A1 transition of Mn2+, respectively. Moreover, energy transfer process from Ce3+ to Mn2+ was verified with the mechanism to be dipole-quadrupole interaction. By varying the doping concentration of Mn2+, tunable colors from blue to white were obtained in the phosphors. The results indicate that this phosphor has potential applications as a single-phased aluminosilicate phosphor for ultraviolet white light-emitting diodes (UVWLEDs).

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