Enhancing Structural Rigidity via a Strategy Involving Protons for Creating Water-Resistant Mn4+-Doped Fluoride Phosphors.

The poor water resistance property of a commercial Mn4+-activated narrow-band red-emitting fluoride phosphor restricts its promising applications in high-performance white LEDs and wide-gamut displays. Herein, we develop a structural rigidity-enhancing strategy using a novel KHF2:Mn4+ precursor as a Mn source to construct a proton-containing water-resistant phosphor K2(H)TiF6:Mn4+ (KHTFM). The parasitic [HMnF6]- complexes in the interstitial site from the fall off the KHF2:Mn4+ are also transferred to the K2TiF6 host by ion exchange to form KHTFM with rigid bonding networks, improving the water resistance and thermostability of the sample. The KHTFM sample retains at least 92% of the original emission value after 180 min of water immersion, while the non-water-resistant K2TiF6:Mn4+(KTFM) phosphor maintains only 23%. Therefore, these findings not only illustrate the effect of protons on fluoride but also provide a novel insight into commercial water-resistant fluoride phosphors.