What material is responsible for ignition on the striking surface of a matchbox?

White phosphorous undergoes spontaneous combustion in air. Red phosphorous is relatively less reactive. The dangers of white phosphorous in the manufacture of matches led to the development of the safety match. The major innovation in its development was the use of red phosphorous.

Arthur Albright had developed the large scale manufacture of red phosphorous after the discovery (1847) by Anton von Schrotter (1802-1875). The idea of creating a specially designated striking surface was developed in 1844 by Gustaf Erik Pasch of Sweden. It was improved by John Edward Lundstrom and his brother who had started a large-scale match industry in Sweden in 1847. The striking surface on modern matches is typically composed of 25% powdered glass or other abrasive material, 50% red phosphorous, 5% neutralizer, 4% carbon black and 6% binder. The match head is typically composed of 45-55% potassium chlorate with a little sulfur and starch. The safety matches ignite at striking surface due to the extreme reactivity of red phosphorous with potassium chlorate.