The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recently announced the winners of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Scientists Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar Yaghi earned the prestigious award. Their groundbreaking work centered on developing metal-organic frameworks, often called MOFs.
This achievement brings the scientists both renown and a share of 11 million Swedish kronor. That amount equals about 1.2 million US dollars. The award, now over a century old, is widely seen as the most respected scientific honor worldwide.
Kitagawa, from Japan, Robson, from Britain, and Yaghi, from Jordan, unveiled a new way to build molecules. Their discovery of MOFs gives chemists powerful new tools. These tools can help solve some of the world’s toughest problems, the Academy noted.
Thanks to these scientists’ initial findings, researchers have now made countless different MOF structures. These new materials are highly functional. News agency EFE reports that most MOF uses have been on a small scale so far.
Yet, companies see the huge promise of MOF materials. Many are now investing heavily to produce and sell them widely. Some have already succeeded. For example, the electronics industry uses MOFs to safely contain toxic gases. These gases are essential for making semiconductors.
Another type of MOF can break down harmful substances. This includes dangerous chemical weapons. Other companies are testing MOFs to capture carbon dioxide from factories. This could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Some experts believe MOFs hold so much potential that they will become the key material of the 21st century.
Omar Yaghi created a very stable MOF. He showed that scientists could change its structure on purpose. This “rational design” gave MOFs exciting new features. Susumu Kitagawa proved that gases could easily move in and out of MOF structures. He also predicted that these frameworks could be designed to be flexible.
Richard Robson made a crucial step in 1989. He found a new way to use the natural traits of atoms. Robson combined positively charged copper ions with a special four-armed molecule. Each arm had a chemical group that pulled in copper ions. When mixed, these parts joined together. They formed a neat, spacious crystal, much like a diamond filled with tiny empty spaces.
Looking back to 2024, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to American scientists. David Baker, John Jumper, and Demis Hassabis won that year. Their work focused on figuring out protein structures and creating new ones. This led to big steps forward in areas like drug discovery.