Kitagawa, Robson & Yaghi Win 2025 Nobel in Chemistry for Porous Material Innovation

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences today awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi for their pioneering work in developing metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) — molecular architectures that contain large internal cavities through which gases and chemicals can flow.

Breakthrough in Molecular Design

These laureates have engineered a new class of porous materials by linking metal ions (as cornerstones) with extended organic molecules, forming crystalline networks full of cavities.  By choosing different metals and organic linkers, chemists can tailor MOFs to selectively capture, store, or release specific substances.

MOFs hold promise for a wide range of applications: harvesting water from desert air, capturing carbon dioxide, storing toxic gases, catalyzing chemical reactions, and even conducting electricity under certain designs.

A History of Discovery

1989 – Richard Robson’s early work Robson experimented with combining copper ions and a four-armed organic molecule. The combination assembled into a spacious, ordered crystal—a precursor of MOFs. However, the structure was initially unstable and collapsed.

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Early 1990s to 2000s – Kitagawa & Yaghi’s advancesSusumu Kitagawa demonstrated that gases could pass in and out of MOFs and predicted the possibility of flexible frameworks.Omar Yaghi developed more robust, stable MOFs and introduced design principles that allowed chemists to tailor the frameworks for specific tasks.

Thanks to these foundational discoveries, researchers now have access to tens of thousands of MOF variants.

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Global Impact & Applications

Scientists are exploring MOFs to help address critical challenges: Water harvesting in arid regions, carbon capture and storage, removal of pollutants (e.g. PFAS, pharmaceuticals) from water, gas storage (hydrogen, methane).

Catalysis and chemical conversion Heiner Linke, Chair of the Nobel Committee, commented on the award: "Metal–organic frameworks have enormous potential, bringing previously unforeseen opportunities for custom-made materials with new functions."

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Laureates’ Backgrounds

Susumu Kitagawa Born 1951 in Kyoto, Japan. Earned his PhD in 1979 from Kyoto University. He is currently a professor there.

Richard Robson Born 1937 in Glusburn, UK. PhD in 1962 from the University of Oxford. He has served as a professor at the University of Melbourne.

Omar M. Yaghi Born 1965 in Amman, Jordan. He earned his PhD in 1990 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Currently a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, established in 1739, operates independently to promote the natural sciences and mathematics and to facilitate interdisciplinary exchange.