Dr. Ng Wen Cai completed her Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Chemical Engineering at Monash University in 2017. Shortly after, she returned to Monash University to pursue her postgraduate research degree, and was conferred the award Doctor of Philosophy in 2022. Currently, she is appointed as a postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Engineering at Monash University Malaysia. Her primary research interests lie in renewable energy, solar hydrogen and nanotechnology. She is an active budding researcher that mainly works on the engineering design and development of efficient semiconductor-based photoelectrodes for solar-to-fuel (hydrogen) applications.

In the current era, industrialisation, modernisation and growth in the human population have led to a tremendous spike in global energy consumption. To date, fossil fuels (natural gas, coal and petroleum) are still predominantly relied upon in meeting these increasing global energy demands for transportation, electricity, heat and other energy-related services due to their convenience and technological maturity. However, the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the relentless extraction, processing and use of these carbon-derived sources have led to many deleterious environmental impacts, such as global warming, climate change and disruption of ecological balance. Moreover, the natural reserves of these non-renewable fuels are depleting rapidly at an alarming rate, placing the future of global energy security at stake. Hence, fuelled by the need for environmental remediation and energy security, the harvesting and conversion of large-magnitude solar energy to generate hydrogen, which is a clean and ideal fuel, has come to the fore as a potential long-term alternative to replace fossil fuels. In line with global efforts to transition towards a low-carbon economy and to produce hydrogen sustainably, my research focuses on the development of solar-driven photoelectrochemical systems for green hydrogen production. As the use of efficient photoactive electrode materials is crucial to achieving a high solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency, my research work includes the rational design of nanostructured semiconductor-based photoelectrode materials and the development of nano-architectural modification strategies based on sound materials engineering. Tapping into the potential of upscalable photoelectrochemical devices, I am also looking into the construction of high-performance photoelectrochemical tandem systems for efficient solar utilisation.