Cadmium-based compounds have emerged as outstanding multifunctional
materials due to their excellent optical and multistate switching
properties. However, the hybrid compound often faces challenges such
as a low transition temperature and poor fluorescence. It is necessary
to understand the structure–property relationships to enhance
compound performance. Herein, through H/F substitution strategy, we
synthesized a multifunctional compound, (4,4-DCA)2CdCl4 (4,4-DCA = 4,4-difluorocyclohexylammonium) (1), which exhibits reversible solid-state phase transition, a wide
optical band gap, and blue fluorescence emission. The transition temperature
is significantly increased by 42 K after fluorinating the previously
reported compound because of the higher rotational energy barrier
of the fluorinated cation. Moreover, through the Sb doping strategy,
the quantum yields significantly improved by ∼20%, and the
average fluorescence lifetime also increased. First-principles calculations
revealed that Sb doping altered the frontier orbital, and the exciton
carrier can return to the ground state more rapidly via Sb orbitals.
This work demonstrates the enhancement of chemical properties through
H/F substitution and a metal-doping strategy, providing insights into
the scientific modification-induced improvement in compound performances.