Toward Controllable Self‐Reduction of Mn4+ to Mn2+ by Lanthanide Ions for Luminescence Based Colorimetric Sensing of Temperature

Luminescence intensity ratio (LIR) based optical thermometers have attracted lots of attention. In case of color tunable luminescence with the variation of LIR, “RGB colorimetry” based on convenient temperature sensing using a smartphone or digital camera is available. However, narrow emission bands with primary colors are needed for avoiding color crosstalk and achieving high sensitivities. In this paper, Mn4+ and Mn2+ coactivated CaAl12O19 (CAO) phosphors are reported that show a narrow red emission of Mn4+ and green one of Mn2+ with the number of the two ions controlled by lanthanide ions through manipulation of self‐reduction of Mn4+ to Mn2+ in air. The self‐reduction in CAO via the addition of Ce4+ is mainly studied. First‐principles calculation shows that the self‐reduction is driven by Ca vacancies that are produced in aliovalent substitution of Ce4+ for Ca2+ and can reduce the formation energy of Mn2+. The comparative study of temperature sensing based on LIR and RG colorimetry is conducted. The relative sensitivity based on LIR is high as 4.5% K−1 at 373 K and that for RG colorimetry can reach 2% K−1 at 350 K. These findings provide a strategy for manipulation of manganese valance states and a phosphor for RG colorimetry temperature sensing.