The Research and Postgraduate Centre extends its congratulations to Prof. Ir. Dr. Yong Wai Fen and her research team, comprising Voon Boon Kee (2024/03 Master’s student) and Yap Yen Juin (2022/09 Bachelor’s student) from the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering and the Centre of Excellence for Green and Advanced Technologies in Efficient Separations (GATES).
Their critical review article has been selected for publication in the prestigious journal Green Chemistry, published by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
The article has also been featured in the themed collection “Celebrating International Women’s Day 2026: Women in Green Chemistry”, which recognizes the outstanding contributions of women researchers in the field. The collection highlights impactful work published in 2025 by women researchers as first or corresponding authors, showcasing advances in green and sustainable chemistry. The inclusion of this article reflects its relevance to the development of environmentally responsible chemical processes.
The article, titled “Green solvents in membrane separation: progress, challenges, and future perspectives for sustainable industrial applications”, was co-authored by Voon Boon Kee and Yap Yen Juin under the supervision of Prof. Ir. Dr. Yong.
Both authors are Chemical Engineering students at Xiamen University Malaysia, with Voon pursuing a Master’s degree and Yap currently in the final year of undergraduate study.
The review addresses the urgent need to replace conventional hazardous solvents, including N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), and N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc), with greener alternatives. It provides a comprehensive overview of emerging solvent systems, including bio-derived solvents, ionic liquids (ILs), and deep eutectic solvents (DES), and evaluates their roles in membrane-based separation processes.
The study further examines polymer–solvent interactions using Hansen Solubility Parameters and explores the potential application of artificial intelligence in predicting solvent compatibility. These approaches support more informed solvent selection and the design of sustainable systems for applications such as carbon capture and water treatment.
This recognition highlights the significant contributions of Prof. Ir. Dr. Yong and her team to the fields of green chemistry and sustainable separation technologies. It reflects their continued commitment to addressing global environmental challenges through innovative scientific solutions.
The team acknowledges financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 22108118), the State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Xiamen University (Grant No. 2024X32), the Xiamen University Malaysia Research Fund (Grant No. XMUMRF/2024-C14/IENG/0073), and Hengyuan International Sdn. Bhd. (Grant No. EENG/0003).
Prof. Ir. Dr. Yong Wai Fen is the Head of Programmes (MSc and PhD in Chemical Engineering) at the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University Malaysia, and serves as the Director of the Centre of Excellence for Green and Advanced Technologies in Efficient Separations (GATES). Her research focuses on sustainable green materials, membranes, and separation technologies. She has received numerous national and international awards, including the 2025 National Outstanding Researcher Award (Private Education Cooperative of Malaysia (Educoop)), the 2024 Distinguished Women Scientist Award (ISPT, Elsevier), the 2024 Young Investigator Award (Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) & Carbon Capture Science & Technology (CCST)), 2024 Young Investigator Award (Results in Engineering, Elsevier), recognised among the World’s Top 2% Scientists from 2023 to 2025 (Stanford University), 2016 Green Talents Award, and was named among the Top 50 outstanding Green Talents alumni (German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)).