Three scientists win 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for metal-organic frameworks
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar Yaghi for the development of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The prize recognizes a field that blends inorganic chemistry with organic design to create porous, crystalline materials with vast potential across industry and the environment.
MOFs are molecular constructions composed of metal nodes connected by organic linkers, forming highly porous, lattice-like structures. Their open frameworks can be tailored at the molecular level to create specific pockets and channels that gas molecules or liquids can move through. Since the early work dating back to 1989, MOFs have evolved into tools for gas storage, separation, catalysis, sensing, and even water harvesting from desert air.
The academy described the laureates’ contributions as providing chemists with new opportunities to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges. By enabling precise control over pore size, chemistry within the pores, and stability, MOFs allow researchers to design materials for targeted applications—ranging from carbon capture and storage to detoxifying harmful gases and purifying drinking water.
What the winners contributed
Omar Yaghi, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, has been a central figure in the MOF field, championing the idea of “reticular chemistry”—the designing and linking of stable, rigid building blocks to assemble extended frameworks with predetermined structures. Susumu Kitagawa, known for his pioneering work in creating highly porous coordination networks, advanced synthesis methods that opened new ways to organize metal nodes and organic linkers. Richard Robson, contributing his expertise to the field, helped translate MOF chemistry into practical separations, storage technologies, and environmental applications.
Collectively, their research has spurred collaborations across disciplines, enabling chemists to think beyond traditional catalysts and materials. The resulting MOF platforms have shown promise in capturing carbon dioxide, storing energy, and even harvesting water from the atmosphere—an option that could benefit arid regions and improve water security in the future.
Implications for science and society
MOFs offer a level of design flexibility not easily achieved with conventional materials. By customizing pore environments, scientists can tune reactivity and selectivity for specific gases or molecules, enabling more efficient industrial separations. In energy storage, MOFs can be designed to host hydrogen or other fuels at high densities, potentially aiding the transition to low-carbon technologies. In environmental contexts, MOFs may help remove pollutants from air or water, contributing to cleaner ecosystems and improved public health.
While MOFs are not a universal remedy, their modular nature provides a versatile platform for addressing multiple challenges in energy, chemistry, and environmental science. The Nobel recognition underscores the importance of fundamental materials research that can yield practical tools for real-world problems.
A brief look at the Nobel context
The Chemistry Prize is announced after the Nobel prizes in medicine and physics, with the Literature and Peace prizes following later in the week. The laureates share a cash award of 11 million Swedish crowns, recognizing a century-old tradition established by Alfred Nobel’s will. MOFs add to a long lineage of chemistry breakthroughs that have reshaped industry, medicine, and technology.
As researchers build on the MOF foundation, the field is expected to expand into more scalable manufacturing, industrial separations, and energy applications. The 2025 Chemistry Prize highlights how targeted molecular design can unlock new capabilities—an idea that could redefine how we capture, store, and utilize resources in the years ahead.
What’s next for MOFs and related research
Scientists will likely intensify efforts to make MOFs more stable under real-world conditions, reduce production costs, and pair them with other materials to broaden their functionality. Realizing practical deployment will require advances in synthesis, testing under industrial conditions, and environmental considerations to ensure safe, sustainable use.
For students and early-career researchers, the award signals a thriving area of study with vast potential beyond the laboratory—toward cleaner energy, safer chemical processes, and resilient environmental technologies.
Prize details and acknowledgments
The winners will share 11 million Swedish crowns in prize money and receive international recognition for advancing the science of materials through metal-organic frameworks. The 2025 announcements also include other Nobel prizes in medicine, physics, literature, peace, and economics, illustrating the breadth of human achievement celebrated each year.
Notes: Susumu Kitagawa (Japan), Richard Robson (United Kingdom/Canada affiliations in MOF research histories), and Omar Yaghi (United States/Jordan) are recognized for pioneering work that has reshaped how scientists conceive and deploy porous materials. The awards are presented by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, reflecting a centuries-old tradition of scientific excellence.
Related context
MOFs join a lineage of transformative chemistry awards that have driven advances in drug design, materials science, and environmental technology. The 2025 chemistry prize sits alongside ongoing explorations of protein engineering, quantum materials, and sustainable chemistry that continue to push the boundaries of what is scientifically possible.
