A novel white Y2(Ti0.8Hf0.2)2O7: Eu phosphors regulated by HfO2 exhibiting low color shifting for high temperature

White Y2(Ti0.8Hf0.2)2O7:0.2Eu phosphors exhibit a high color rendering index (Ra = 83–90.2), low color temperature (CCT = 4243 K), and low color shifting (Δs = 2.83 × 10−2) at 503 K, and are suitable for use in white LED devices. [Display omitted] •White Y2(Ti0.8Hf0.2)2O7:Eu phosphors with low color shifting under high temperature (503 K) were synthesized.•The formation of Eu2+ ions was caused by the introduction of HfO2 and did not require additional reducing agents.•Y2(Ti0.8Hf0.2)2O7:0.2Eu phosphors exhibit a high color rendering index (Ra = 83–90.2) and low color shifting (Δs=2.83 × 10−2) under high temperature.•The WLED device exhibits good color coordinates (0.345, 0.358) and a high Ra value of 90.1 at a 300 mA current. The development of white phosphors that can be activated in near-ultraviolet light is highly important in the field of LED lighting. In this work, a series of color-tunable Y2(Ti1-xHfx)2O7:Eu phosphors were prepared by adjusting the HfO2 and Eu3+ concentrations. In particular, white Y2(Ti0.8Hf0.2)2O7:Eu phosphors were successfully synthesized and emitted a broad band covering the entire visible light region upon excitation with 340 nm UV light. The white banded materials were composed of Eu2+ and Eu3+ emissions and HfO2 defect emission. The formation of Eu2+ ions was caused by the introduction of HfO2, which causes self-reduction of Eu3+ ions but does not require additional reducing agents. The white Y2(Ti0.8Hf0.2)2O7:Eu phosphors exhibit low color shifting at high temperature, which is very important for LED applications. The chromaticity shift of the Y2(Ti0.8Hf0.2)2O7:0.2Eu phosphor is 2.83 × 10−2 at 503 K, which is only 54.8 % that of commercial three-color white phosphors at the same temperature. The Ra value did not decrease significantly with increasing temperature and reached 90.2 at 383 K. Y2 (Ti0.8Hf0.2)2O7:0.2Eu phosphors were assembled with a 365 nm LED chip to fabricate a WLED device that showed excellent white-colored coordinates (0.345, 0.358) and a high Ra value of 90.1 under a 300 mA current.