Three scientists win Nobel Prize in chemistry for the development of metal-organic frameworks

Scientists Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi won the Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday for their development of metal,organic frameworks, which an expert likened to Hermione Granger’s enchanted handbag in the fictional “Harry Potter” series.

The three laureates, in research dating back to 1989, developed a new form of molecular architecture that—like Hermione’s handbag—is small on the outside but very large on the inside, according to Olof Ramström, a member of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.

“They have created molecular constructions with large spaces through which gases and other chemicals can flow,” the committee said.

Hans Ellegren, secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, announced the chemistry prize in Stockholm. It was the third prize announced this week.

Robson, 88, is affiliated with the University of Melbourne in Australia, Kitagawa, 74, with Japan’s Kyoto University and Yaghi, 60, with the University of California, Berkeley.

The chemists, working separately but adding to each other’s breakthroughs, devised ways to make stable metal organic frameworks—which may be compared to the timber framework of a house.

These structures can absorb and contain gases inside these frameworks, with many practical applications today—such as capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or sucking water out of dry desert air.

“Metal-organic frameworks have enormous potential, bringing previously unforeseen opportunities for custom-made materials with new functions,” Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, said in a news release.

Kitagawa spoke to the committee, and the press, over the phone Wednesday after his win was announced.

“I’m deeply honored and delighted that my long-standing research has been recognized,” he said.

The 2024 prize was awarded to David Baker, a biochemist at the University of Washington in Seattle, and to Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, computer scientists at Google DeepMind, a British-American artificial intelligence research laboratory based in London.

The three were awarded for discovering powerful techniques to decode and even design novel proteins, the building blocks of life. Their work used advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, and holds the potential to transform how new drugs and other materials are made.

The first Nobel of 2025 was announced Monday. The prize in medicine went to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Dr. Shimon Sakaguchi for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.

Tuesday’s physics prize went to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis for their research on the weird world of subatomic quantum tunneling that advances the power of everyday digital communications and computing.

This year’s Nobel announcements continue with the literature prize Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced Friday and the economics prize next Monday.

The award ceremony will be held Dec. 10, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, who founded the prizes. Nobel was a wealthy Swedish industrialist and the inventor of dynamite. He died in 1896.

Nobel committee announcement:

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 to

Susumu Kitagawa, Kyoto University, Japan

Richard Robson, University of Melbourne, Australia

Omar M. Yaghi, University of California, Berkeley, U.S.

“for the development of metal-organic frameworks”

Their molecular architecture contains rooms for chemistry

The Nobel Prize laureates in chemistry 2025 have created molecular constructions with large spaces through which gases and other chemicals can flow. These constructions, metal-organic frameworks, can be used to harvest water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide, store toxic gases or catalyze chemical reactions.

Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi are awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025. 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.

“Metal-organic frameworks have enormous potential, bringing previously unforeseen opportunities for custom-made materials with new functions,” says Heiner Linke, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.

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.

Following the laureates’ groundbreaking discoveries, 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 PFAS from water, breaking down traces of pharmaceuticals in the environment, capturing carbon dioxide or harvesting water from desert air.

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