3 win chemistry Nobel for developing metal-organic frameworks

• Scientists Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development of metal–organic frameworks.

• The constructions they created — metal–organic frameworks (MOF) — contain large cavities in which molecules can flow in and out. 

• Researchers have used them to harvest water from desert air, extract pollutants from water, capture carbon dioxide and store hydrogen. 

This year’s winners:

a) Susumu Kitagawa was born in 1951 in Kyoto, Japan. He is a professor at Kyoto University, Japan.

b) Richard Robson was born in 1937 in Glusburn, UK. He is a professor at University of Melbourne, Australia.

c) Omar M. Yaghi was born in 1965 in Amman, Jordan. He is a professor at University of California, Berkeley, USA.

• They have developed a new form of molecular architecture.

• In their constructions, metal ions function as cornerstones that are linked by long organic (carbon-based) molecules. 

• Together, the metal ions and molecules are organised to form crystals that contain large cavities. 

• These porous materials are called metal–organic frameworks (MOF). 

• By varying the building blocks used in the MOFs, chemists can design them to capture and store specific substances. 

• MOFs can also drive chemical reactions or conduct electricity. 

• It all started in 1989, when Richard Robson tested utilising the inherent properties of atoms in a new way. He combined positively charged copper ions with a four-armed molecule. This had a chemical group that was attracted to copper ions at the end of each arm.

• When they were combined, they bonded to form a well-ordered, spacious crystal. It was like a diamond filled with innumerable cavities.

• Robson immediately recognised the potential of his molecular construction, but it was unstable and collapsed easily. 

• However, Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi provided this building method with a firm foundation. Between 1992 and 2003 they made, separately, a series of revolutionary discoveries. 

• Kitagawa showed that gases can flow in and out of the constructions and predicted that MOFs could be made flexible. 

• Yaghi created a very stable MOF and showed that it can be modified using rational design, giving it new and desirable properties.

• Yaghi established the next milestone in the development of metal-organic frameworks in 1999, when he presented MOF-5 to the world. 

• This material has become a classic in the field. It is an exceptionally spacious and stable molecular construction. Even when empty, it can be heated to 300°C without collapsing. 

• However, what caused many researchers to raise their eyebrows was the enormous area hiding inside the material’s cubic spaces. A couple of grams of MOF-5 holds an area as big as a football pitch, which means it can absorb much more gas than a zeolite could.

• Following the groundbreaking discoveries by the trio, chemists have built tens of thousands of different MOFs. 

• Some of these may contribute to solving some of humankind’s greatest challenges, with applications that include separating Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) from water, breaking down traces of pharmaceuticals in the environment, capturing carbon dioxide or harvesting water from desert air.