Prof. Yun Hau NG
Yun Hau Ng is a Professor in the School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong. He received his Ph.D (Chemistry) from Osaka University in 2009. After a brief research visit to Radiation Laboratory at University of Notre Dame (Prof. Prashant Kamat’s group), he joined the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials led by Prof. Rose Amal at UNSW and Prof. Max Lu at University of Queensland with the Australian Early Career Researcher Fellowship (APD) in 2011. He became a lecturer (2014) and Senior Lecturer (2016) in the School of Chemical Engineering at UNSW before joining City University of Hong Kong in 2018.
His research is focused on the development of novel photoactive semiconductors (particles and thin films) for sunlight energy-to-chemicals conversion and storage, including hydrogen generation from water and conversion of carbon dioxide to solar fuels. Focusing on these topics, he has secured about HK$35 million research funding from various sources including Hong Kong Research Grant Council and Australian Research Council.
In 2019, Prof. Ng was awarded APEC Science Prize for Innovation, Research and Education (ASPIRE) in Chile for his work in artificial photosynthesis. In 2018, he received the Distinguished Lectureship Award from the Chemical Society of Japan. He was previously named the Honda-Fujishima Prize winner in 2013 as the first non-Japanese recipient, in recognition of his work in the area of photo-driven water splitting. He was also an Emerging Investigator in Energy Materials by the RSC Journal of Material Chemistry A in 2016. He has published over 170 peer-reviewed research articles (including Nature Catalysis, JACS, Angewandte Chemie, Advanced Materials, Advanced Energy Materials, Energy & Environmental Science, Chemical Society Reviews, Chemical Reviews and etc) with >14,000 citations. He is currently serving as an Editor for Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics (Springer).
Research Interests
- Suspension-type nanoparticulate photocatalytic water splitting. (i) Reactor design for scalable reaction; (ii) Development of Z-scheme artificial photosynthesis using oxide powder; (iii) Band-structural modulation of oxide semiconductor.
- Photoelectrochemical water splitting. (i) Scalable thin film fabrication methods; (ii) Liquid-solid interface at photoelectrodes; (iii) Charge transportation under illuminated electrochemical system.
- Electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction or conversion assisted with light. (i) CO2 adsorption-reduction/conversion mechanistic pathways; (ii) Development of low cost earth-abundant electrode materials.
- Other photocatalytic reactions for energy and environmental applications. For examples, (i) NOx degradation and (ii) ammonia decomposition (for hydrogen generation).
Research Videos
Prof. Yun Hau Ng – Zero pollution technology for generating renewable energy
Prof. Yun Hau Ng, 2019 ASPIRE Prize Winner on his Clean Energy Research
Selected International Awards and Honours
| 2019 | APEC Science Prize for Innovation, Research and Education (ASPIRE) by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) |
| 2018 | Distinguished Lectureship Award by the Chemical Society of Japan (CSJ) |
| 2017 | John A. Brodie Medal by ENGINEERS Australia |
| 2016 | Emerging Investigator by Royal Society of Chemistry (J. Mater. Chem. A) |
| 2015 | Theo Murphy Frontiers of Science Travel Award by the Theo Murphy Fund, Royal Society of London |
| 2013 | Honda-Fujishima Prize by the Electrochemical Society of Japan |
| 2012 | OzCarbon Award by the Australian Carbon Society |
| 2011 | Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship (APD) by the Australian Research Council (ARC) |
| 2008 | Japan Global Center of Excellence Fellowship (GCOE – Visiting Researcher) by Osaka University to University of Notre Dame (USA) |
Selected Recent Publications (recent 5 years)
- H. Y. Chung, C.Y. Toe, W. Chen, X. Wen, R. J. Wong, R. Amal, F. F. Abdi, Y. H. Ng*, Manipulating the Fate of Charge Carriers with Tungsten Concentration: Enhancing Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation of Bi2WO6, Small 2021, 2102023.
- H. Wu, X. Y. Kong, X. Wen, S. P. Chai, E. C. Lovell, J. Tang, Y. H. Ng*, Metal-organic Framework Decorated Cuprous Oxide Nanowires for Long-lived Charges Applied in Selective Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction to CH4, Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2021, 60 (15), 8455-8459.
- H. Wu, H. L. Tan, C. Y. Toe, J. Scott, L. Wang, R. Amal, Y. H. Ng*, Photocatalytic and Photoelectrochemical Systems: Similarities and Difference, Advanced Materials 2020, 32 (18), 1904717.
- H. L. Tan, F. F. Abdi, Y. H. Ng*, Heterogeneous Photocatalysts: An Overview of Classic and Modern Approaches for Optical, Electronic, and Charge Dynamics Evaluation, Chemical Society Reviews 2019, 48 (5), 1255-1271.
- C. Y. Toe, Z. Zheng, H. Wu, J. Scott, R. Amal, Y. H. Ng*, Photocorrosion of Cuprous Oxide in Hydrogen Production: Rationalising Self-Oxidation or Self-Reduction, Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2018, 57 (41), 13613-13617.
- S. N. Lou, N. Sharma, D. Goonetilleke, W. H. Saputera, T. M. Leoni, P. Brockbank, S. Lim, D. –W. Wang, J. Scott, R. Amal, Y. H. Ng*, An Operando Mechanistic Evaluation of a Solar-Rechargeable Sodium-ion Intercalation Battery, Advanced Energy Materials 2017, 7 (19), 1700545 (Journal Cover).
- H. L. Tan, H. A. Tahini, X. Wen, R. J. Wong, X. Tan, A. Iwase, A. Kudo, R. Amal, S. C. Smith, Y. H. Ng*, Interfacing BiVO4 with Reduced Graphene Oxide for Enhanced Photoactivity: A Tale of Facet Dependence of Electron Shuttling, Small 2016, 12 (38), 5295-5302 (Journal Cover).
Selected Journal/Book Covers
Selected Media Coverage
Research Projects
| 2022-2024 | Hong Kong RGC – General Research Fund (GRF) Understanding the Improved Photocharge Transportation in Bismuth-based Photocatalysts via Defect and Structural Engineering, as PI. |
| 2021-2023 | CityU Strategic Interdisciplinary Research Grant (SIRG) Development of Bismuth-based Photocatalyst Panel for Hydrogen Production from Water Splitting driven by Sunlight, as PI. |
| 2021 | Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), Hong Kong Government Feasibility Study on Generating Green Hydrogen in Hong Kong, as PI. |
| 2021-2023 | Hong Kong RGC – General Research Fund (GRF) Development of Nanostructured Photoelectrodes for Solar Water Splitting via Advanced Electrochemical-based Synthesis Techniques, as PI. |
| 2020-2022 | Shenzhen Basic Research Grant Addressing Stability Issue of Photocatalysts for Hydrogen Generation, as PI. |
| 2020-2022 | CityU Applied Research Grant (ARG) Carbon Dioxide Capture and Conversion into Liquid Hydrocarbon Products, as Co-I (PI-Jin Shang, CityU) |
| 2020-2022 | Hong Kong RGC – General Research Fund (GRF) Development of High Efficiency Non-TiO2 Photocatalysts by Understanding the Underlying Photocorrosion Phenomena, as PI. |
| 2020-2021 | Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) – PSTS-COVID-19 Public Sector Trial Scheme A Fast-tract Vented Enclosure for COVID-19 Patients in Hospital, as Co-PI (PI: Dr. Steven Wang, CityU). |
| 2019-2020 | Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) Study of Energy Harvesting from H2O using Nano-porous Materials, as PI. |
| 2019-2020 | Contract Project: EPRO Advance Technology Pty Ltd Silicon-based Fine Powder for Hydrogen Generation, as PI. |
| 2019-2021 | CityU Applied Research Grant (ARG) Spontaneous Hydrogen Production from Wastewater using Elemental Powder Catalysts, as PI. |
| 2019-2020 | Australian Research Council (ARC) LIEF Project Multi-angle In-operando Mapping of Nanoscale Electro/Photo-redox Reactions, as Chief Investigator (CI). |
| 2018-2020 | Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project Overcoming the Inherent Instability of Photocatalyst to Produce Solar Fuels, as Chief Investigator (CI). |
| 2017-2019 | Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project Anodisation Methods and Materials for Solar Water Splitting, as Chief Investigator (CI). |
| 2017-2018 | Australian Research Council (ARC) LIEF Project Integrated Thin Film Facility for Catalysis and Energy Materials Research, as Chief Investigator (CI). |
| 2017 | Defence Science Institute-Maritime Future Technology Watch Program Advanced Energy Materials for Maritime Future Technology, as Chief Investigator (CI). |
| 2013-2015 | Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project Non-precious Fuel Cell Cathode Catalysts from Carbon-based Nanohybrids: A Computational to Experimental Quest, as Chief Investigator (CI). |
| 2011-2013 | Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project Engineering Nanostructured Graphene-based Semiconductor Photocatalysis, as Chief Investigator (CI). |
- Suspension-type nanoparticulate photocatalytic water splitting
- Photoelectrochemical water splitting
- Electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction or conversion assisted with light
- Other photocatalytic reactions for energy and environmental applications