The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has announced the winners of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry , honoring a revolutionary development ...
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has announced the winners of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, honoring a revolutionary development in material science that is poised to tackle some of humanity's biggest challenges. The prestigious award is shared equally by three scientists: Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University, Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne, and Omar M. Yaghi of the University of California, Berkeley, "for the development of metal–organic frameworks."
These three laureates pioneered a new form of molecular architecture, essentially creating incredibly porous materials with a vast internal surface area. They've built "rooms for chemistry" at the molecular level, which are transforming fields from environmental remediation to clean energy.
What are Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs)?
Metal-Organic Frameworks, or MOFs, are a class of crystalline, porous materials constructed from two basic building blocks:
- Metal ions or clusters, which act as cornerstones.
- Organic (carbon-based) molecules, which act as linkers or struts.
When these blocks are chemically stitched together, they self-assemble into well-ordered crystals with enormous cavities—like a diamond riddled with tiny, interconnected tunnels and chambers. This massive internal surface area is what gives MOFs their power. One gram of some MOFs can have the surface area of a football field!
The Breakthrough Research
The journey to stable, functional MOFs was a multi-decade effort:
- Richard Robson initiated the work in 1989, experimenting with combining metal ions and organic molecules to form spacious crystals. His initial constructions, though promising, were often unstable.
- Susumu Kitagawa built on this foundation in the 1990s, demonstrating that gases could flow in and out of the frameworks and showing their potential flexibility.
- Omar M. Yaghi later engineered the first exceptionally stable MOFs and developed the principles of rational design—allowing chemists to fine-tune the size, shape, and chemical function of the pores for specific applications. He even coined the field "reticular chemistry."
Real-World Applications
The flexibility and customizability of MOFs have unlocked applications that address critical global issues:
- Environmental Remediation: MOFs can be designed to capture pollutants, such as carbon dioxide (CO₂) from industrial flue gases, or filter toxic substances like PFAS from water sources.
- Sustainable Water: Yaghi's work includes developing MOFs that can efficiently harvest drinkable water directly from desert air, even in low-humidity conditions.
- Energy Storage: The internal cavities can store gases like hydrogen or methane for clean fuel, potentially making gas storage safer and more efficient.
- Catalysis: MOF structures can act as scaffolds to hold and enhance catalysts, speeding up important chemical reactions.
The development of MOFs represents a fundamental shift in how chemists can design new materials from the ground up, moving beyond existing natural structures to build molecular-scale architectures with tailored properties. It’s a spectacular demonstration of how basic research can lead to technologies with profound, real-world benefits.
