Three researchers – Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yagi – have won the Nobel Prize for developing novel porous materials capable of storing, filtering and trapping molecules, with applications ranging from medicine to the climate crisis.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has announced the winners of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Professor Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University, Professor Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne, and Professor Omar M. Yaghi of the University of California, Berkeley. The three won the prestigious award for developing Metal-organic frameworks (Metal–Organic Frameworks, or MOFs for short) – innovative materials with huge porous structures, capable of trapping, storing, and even filtering small molecules such as gases and liquids.
What are metal-organic frameworks?
To understand the magnitude of the achievement, one must imagine a solid material that at first glance looks like an ordinary crystal. But a deeper look – and through X-rays – reveals a structure resembling Molecular scaffold: Metal ions are attached to organic "plates" or "beams," and together they form a stable three-dimensional network with vast voids.
The uniqueness of MOFs lies in the fact that they can Plan in advance The size and shape of these spaces, just like molecular architecture. The spaces can be small or large, and inside them it is possible to store molecules of important gases – for example hydrogen, carbon dioxide or methane. In this way, they constitute a possible solution to a number of global challenges: from storing green energy, to reducing carbon emissions, to purifying water from pollutants.
While other porous materials such as zeolites or activated carbon have been known for decades, the advantage of MOFs is their flexibility: the researcher can choose the metal ion and the organic ligand, and together they create a structure with unique properties – strength, thermal stability, enormous surface area, or response to "guests" that enter the spaces.
The Beginning: From Idea to Breakthrough
Until the 90s, the task of producing complex three-dimensional structures was considered almost impossible. The chemist Roald Hoffmann, a Nobel laureate himself, called it a “synthetic desert.” But Professor Richard Robson of Australia refused to accept the limitations. He studied how copper ions and certain organoligands could organize themselves into stable crystalline structures with internal cavities.
His breakthrough experiment in 1989 surprised the scientific community: instead of a disordered material, a crystal with a clear “diamond” structure was obtained, with voids filled with dissolved molecules. This was the moment when it became clear for the first time that the synthesis of pre-designed porous materials could be controlled.
At the same time, in Japan, Susumu Kitagawa developed two-dimensional frameworks that could be filled with gases and released again in a controlled manner. He coined the term “soft porous crystals” and proposed dividing the field into “generations”: the first generation collapsed on emptying, the second generation allowed repeated filling and emptying, and the third generation even changed its shape in response to different guests.
Omar Yaghi, one of the most prolific and cited researchers in contemporary chemistry, took the field forward with a new concept: Reticular ChemistryHe defined the principles of “modular assembly” – like a molecular Lego game – by which different metal units and ligands can be assembled into giant networks with a surface area of thousands of square meters per gram. His best-known contribution is the creation of MOF-5, which has become an icon of the field due to its stability and enormous surface area.
Practical uses
The potential of MOFs is enormous, and they are already being researched and tested in diverse applications:
- Hydrogen storage For electric cars powered by fuel cells.
- Carbon dioxide capture From power plant chimneys to reduce the climate crisis.
- water purification – For example, adsorption of persistent contaminants such as PFAS.
- Personalized medicine – Controlled release of medications from the frameworks.
- Agriculture and food – Absorbing moisture from dry air and releasing it for drinking or irrigation.
The free surface area in these materials can reach more than 10,000 square meters per gram – an almost inconceivable figure. For comparison, the area of a football field is about 7,000 square meters. In other words, a single gram of such a material "hides" a surface area larger than an entire field.
Who are the winners?
- Susumu Kitagawa – Born in Kyoto, 74 years old, professor at Kyoto University. Recognized as the father of the field of "porous crystals" in Japan. A curious researcher who was influenced by the Japanese scientific tradition of combining experimental precision with philosophical thinking about matter.
- Richard Robson – 83 years old, professor emeritus at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Made the first breakthrough in the field in the 80s. Likes to call himself an “architect of crystals.”
- Omar Yagi – 60 years old, born in Jordan who immigrated to the US. Professor at Berkeley, founder of the field of "network chemistry". Also known as an initiator of broad international collaborations, with the aim of making advanced science and materials accessible to developing countries.
Looking ahead
As the Nobel Committee wrote, “Metal-organic frameworks have turned what was once a dream – on-demand molecular architecture – into an everyday reality in many laboratories around the world.” The field continues to evolve, with new applications in energy production, medicine, and the chemical industry.
This year's prize is not only a recognition of three outstanding researchers, but also a celebration of a new approach to science – a combination of imagination, mathematics and geometry with experimental chemistry. In other words: building a new world, atom by atom, space by space.
The scientific breakdown of the Nobel Prize Committee
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