BIOGRAPHY

Dr Gan received his Ph.D. in Advanced Materials from the University of Malaya. He is currently working as an assistant professor at School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University Malaysia. His research has been focused on the functional properties of soft materials including ferroelectric, piezoelectric, triboelectric and composites.  

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Energy materials; Piezoelectric Nanogenerator; Triboelectric Nanogenerator; Dielectric and Ferroelectric Materials

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

• PhD (Advanced Materials), University of Malaya (2015)

• BSc (Applied Physics), University of Malaya (2005)

WORKING EXPERIENCE  

• Associate Professor Head of Programme NESE (Undergraduate)School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University Malaysia (2023-present)

• Assistant ProfessorSchool of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University Malaysia (2016-2023)

• Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Physics, University of Malaya, Malaysia (2015-2016).

GRANTS

[1] Principal Investigator, XMUM Research Fund (XMUMRF) 2021

Project: High-performance P(VDF-TrFE)/CNT composites triboelectric nanogenerator for smart agriculture.  

[2] Principal Investigator, XMUM Research Fund (XMUMRF) 2018

Project: Piezo/triboelectric self-power energy harvesting system.  

[3] Co-Investigator, Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) 2021

Project:Charge and Spin Coupling at the Interface Between Hexagonal Semiconductor ZnO and Inverse-Spinel Half-Metal Fe3O4 for advanced device applications  

[4] Co-Investigator, Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) 2020

Project:Fabricating Flexile Piezoelectric Polymer of Medium-Chain-Length Poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate) Plasticized Poly-L-lactic Acid for Pressure Bio-Sensor  

[5] Co-Investigator, Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) 2018

Project:Optimization of piezoelectric and triboelectric synergetic effect through the fabrication and functionalization of piezo/triboelectric polymer nanocomposites for low energy harvesting  

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS

[1] S.R. Gopal, T.S. Velayutham, W.C. Gan, J.Y. Cheong, A.E. Soh 2023 A hybrid piezoelectric and triboelectric nanogenerator with lead-free BZT–BCT/PDMS composite and PVA film for scavenging mechanical energy.  RSC Advances 13 (12), 7921-7928

[2] Y.P. Lim, J.S.C. Koay, J.T. Zhao, S.L. Huang, B.T. Goh, K.C. Aw, B.H. Chen, C.Y. Haw, W.C. Gan* 2022 Modulating ZnO Growth Structures for Maximum Power Output of Hybrid Piezo/Triboelectric Nanogenerator (H-P/TENG). Adv. Func. Mater. 32, 2206750

[3] S.H. Mat Sin, T.S. Velayutham, T. Furukawa, H. Kodama, W.C. Gan, S. Chio-Srichan, M. Kriechbaum, T. Nakajima  2022 Quantitative study on the face shear piezoelectricity and its relaxation in uniaxially-drawn and annealed poly-l-lactic acid. Polymer 254, 125095.

[4] J.Y. Choeng, J.S.C. Koay, R. Chen, K.C. Aw, T.S. Velayutham, B. Chen, J.Li, C.Y. Foo, W.C. Gan* 2021 Maximizing the output power density enhancement of solid polymer electrolyte based-triboelectric nanogenerators via contact electrification-induced ionic polarization. Nano Energy 90, 106616

[5] J.S.C. Koay, W.C. Gan*, A.E. Soh, J.Y. Cheong, K.C Aw, T.S. Velayutham 2020 An overlapped electron-cloud model for the contact electrification in piezo-assisted triboelectric nanogenerators via control of piezoelectric polarization. J. Mater. Chem. A, 8, 25857-25866.

[6] K. Yellapantula, H. Devaraj, M. Assadian, L. Stuart, C. Lo,W.C. Gan,  K. Aw 2020 Soft and flexible sensor array using carbon black pillars for object recognition via pressure mapping. Measurement, 159, 107781.

[7] C.Y.B. Ng, W.C. Gan, T. S. Velayutham, B. T. Goh, R. Hashim 2020 Structural control of the dielectric, pyroelectric and ferroelectric properties of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) thin films. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 22, 2414-2423.

[8] H. Devaraj,R. Schober, M. Picard, M.Y. Teo, C. Lo, W.C. Gan. K.C. Aw 2019 Highly elastic and flexible multi-layered carbon black/elastomer composite based capacitive sensor arrays for soft robotics. Measurement: Sensors, 2–4, 100004.

[9] R.I. Mahdi, W.C. Gan, W.H. Abd Majid, N.I. Mukri, T. Furukawa 2018 Ferroelectric polarization and pyroelectric activity of functionalized P(VDF-TrFE) thin film lead free nanocomposites. Polymer, 141, 184-193.

[10] W.C. Gan*, W.H. Abd Majid, T. Furukawa 2016 Ferroelectric polarization, pyroelectric activity and dielectric relaxation in Form IV poly(vinylidene fluoride). Polymer, 82, 156-165.

[11] T.S. Velayutham, H.S. Nguan, B.K. Ng, W.C. Gan,  V. Manickam Achari,  N.I. Zahid,  W.H. Abd. Majid,  C. Zannoni, R. Hashim 2016 Molecular dynamics of anhydrous glycolipid self-assembly in lamellar and hexagonal phases. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 18, 15182-15190