Red shift properties, crystal field theory and nephelauxetic effect on Mn4+-doped SrMgAl10-yGayO17 red phosphor for plant growth LED light

[Display omitted] •A novel Mn4+-doped SrMgAl10-yGayO17 red phosphor with red shift and improved luminescence properties.•Crystal field theory and nephelauxetic effect are employed to explain the red shift in luminescence spectra.•The phosphor has potential application on plant growth LED light. The discovery of novel Mn4+-doped oxide red phosphor with suitable spectrum for plant growth is a hot issue in the recent years due to the characteristic red photoluminescence of 2Eg → 4A2 transition in Mn4+ ions. Generally, the emission position of Mn4+ is hard to tune because of specific crystal field in most phosphors. In this work, tunable luminescence property with obvious red shift in the spectra is observed in the Mn4+-doped SrMgAl10-yGayO17 red phosphor via simple substitution of Ga3+ for Al3+, and crystal field theory and nephelauxetic effect are employed to explain this phenomenon. Meanwhile, the Ga3+ dopant changes the shape of the spectra because Ga3+ dopant guides the replacement site of Mn4+ and changes the luminescence center. Improved emission intensity is obtained because appropriate Ga3+ doping leads to larger band gap and reduces non-radiative transitions. Phosphor-converted LED (pc-LED) devices fabricated with blue chip (470 nm) and the as-obtained SrMgAl10-yGayO17:1.0%Mn4+ phosphors emit bright blue and red light, which fit the absorption regions of plant pigments well, thus SrMgAl10-yGayO17:Mn4+ phosphor can be a candidate for plant growth LED light.