Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi are awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 for the development of a new type of molecular architecture. 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.
© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Nanaka Adachi
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 to:
- SUSUMU KITAGAWA
Born 1951 in Kyoto, Japan. PhD 1979 from Kyoto University, Japan. Professor at Kyoto University, Japan. - RICHARD ROBSON
Born 1937 in Glusburn, UK. PhD 1962 from University of Oxford, UK. Professor at University of Melbourne, Australia. - OMAR M. YAGHI
Born 1965 in Amman, Jordan. PhD 1990 from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA. Professor at University of California, Berkeley, USA.
The Nobel Committee praised the trio for “creating materials that connect molecular design to global sustainability.” The laureates received their medals on 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.
MOF materials that capture carbon dioxide and toxic gases
Researchers have created numerous different and functional MOFs. So far, in most cases, the materials have only been used on a small scale. To harness the benefits of MOF materials for humanity, many companies are now investing in their mass production and commercialisation. Some have succeeded. For example, the electronics industry can now use MOF materials to contain some of the toxic gases required to produce semiconductors. Another MOF can instead break down harmful gases, including some that can be used as chemical weapons. Numerous companies are also testing materials that can capture carbon dioxide from factories and power stations, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Some researchers believe that metal–organic frameworks have such huge potential that they will be the material of the twenty-first century. Time will tell, but through the development of metal–organic frameworks, Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi have provided chemists with new opportunities for solving some of the challenges we face. They have thus – as Alfred Nobel’s will states – brought the greatest benefit to humankind.
>> Find out more about the research, Popular information, The Nobel Prize
>> Award ceremony speech, Presented by Professor Olof Ramström
Quote from Omar M. Yaghi banquet speech:
“And on climate, the hour for collective action has already arrived. The science is here. What we need now is courage—courage scaled to the enormity of the task—so we may gift the next generation not only carbon capture, but a planet worthy of their hopes.
I imagine a future where practicing chemistry does not require being a chemist, where discovery is accessible to all. Advances in AI may make this possible—a future where chemistry becomes not only a science of progress but a science of hope. A future where no child faces the limitations I once knew, but grows into a world more stable, more abundant, and more just.”
>> Omar M. Yaghi’s speech at the Nobel Prize banquet, 10 December 2025
