New Delhi: Three scientists from the United States, Japan, and Australia have been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their groundbreaking work on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).
The laureates Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi developed molecular constructions with large spaces that allow gases and other chemicals to flow. These metal-organic frameworks can be used to harvest water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide, store toxic gases, and catalyse chemical reactions.
“The 2025 #NobelPrize in Chemistry has been awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi for the development of metal-organic frameworks,” said the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
MOFs are a new form of molecular architecture in which metal ions act as cornerstones linked by long organic (carbon-based) molecules. Together, they form crystalline structures containing large cavities. By varying the building blocks, chemists can design MOFs to capture and store specific substances, drive chemical reactions, or conduct electricity.
“Metal-organic frameworks have enormous potential, bringing previously unforeseen opportunities for custom-made materials with new functions,” said Heiner Linke, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.
Since their discovery, chemists have created tens of thousands of MOFs. Some of these have applications in tackling major global challenges, including separating PFAS from water, breaking down pharmaceutical residues in the environment, capturing carbon dioxide, and harvesting water from desert air.
Susumu Kitagawa was born in 1951 in Kyoto, Japan, and earned his doctorate from Kyoto University in 1979, where he is currently a professor. Richard Robson, born in 1937 in Glusburn, UK, earned his doctorate from the University of Oxford in 1962 and is currently a professor at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Omar M. Yaghi was born in 1965 in Amman, Jordan, earned his doctorate from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, US, in 1990, and is currently a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, US.
The prize money of 11 million Swedish kronor will be shared equally among the three laureates.
With IANS inputs