Stockholm: The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Susumu Kitagawa of Japan, Richard Robson of Australia, and Omar M. Yaghi of the United States for their pioneering work on metal organic frameworks, or MOFs, materials that hold great promise for capturing carbon dioxide, purifying air, storing gases, and collecting water from dry air.
Announcing the award in Stockholm, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences described MOFs as molecular architectures with spacious internal rooms capable of hosting and releasing various gases and molecules. The innovation lies in their design, which combines metal ions with organic linkers to create crystal-like structures filled with microscopic cavities. These intricate frameworks can be engineered to trap specific molecules, offering remarkable versatility for environmental and industrial uses.
The three laureates, who will share the prize of 11 million Swedish crowns (about 1.2 million U.S. dollars), each made important contributions to the discovery and development of MOFs. Richard Robson, working at the University of Melbourne in the late 1980s, first demonstrated how metal ions could form porous crystal structures, though his early materials lacked stability. Building on that foundation, Susumu Kitagawa at Kyoto University refined these frameworks to make them flexible and capable of withstanding repeated use. Omar Yaghi of the University of California, Berkeley, then advanced the field further, coining the term “reticular chemistry” and designing MOFs with extraordinary surface areas and tailored functionalities.
Under Yaghi’s leadership, research into MOFs expanded rapidly. His team’s breakthroughs include systems that extract drinkable water from desert air and materials capable of capturing carbon dioxide from industrial emissions. He also pioneered related materials such as covalent organic frameworks and zeolitic imidazolate frameworks, extending the applications of porous materials beyond traditional chemistry.
Scientists worldwide have since synthesized tens of thousands of MOF varieties, each fine-tuned for different purposes, from storing hydrogen and removing toxins to developing new catalysts and sensors. Despite challenges such as cost, durability, and large-scale production, MOFs are increasingly viewed as a cornerstone of green technology.
The Nobel Committee noted that this field has grown from a purely academic curiosity into a vital part of global sustainability research. The potential for MOFs to address pressing environmental problems has attracted attention from industries ranging from energy to clean technology.
As the world grapples with pollution, water scarcity, and climate change, the achievements of Kitagawa, Robson, and Yaghi stand as a reminder of how fundamental chemistry can lead to practical solutions for humanity’s most urgent needs. Their discovery, born in laboratories more than three decades ago, now offers hope for a cleaner and more sustainable future.