Nobel Prize 2025 in Chemistry awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson & Omar M. Yaghi for development of 'metal–organic frameworks '

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi for their groundbreaking work in developing a new type of molecular architecture known as metal–organic frameworks (MOFs).

The announcement was made by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Wednesday.

The innovation behind MOFs lies in the way metal ions act as cornerstones, linked together by long, carbon-based molecules. Together, these components form organized crystals containing large cavities. By carefully choosing different building blocks, chemists can design MOFs to capture specific substances, drive chemical reactions, or even conduct electricity.


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

Nobel Prize 2025: Physics prize awarded to John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis for breakthroughs in quantum tunnelling

The story of MOFs began in 1989 when Richard Robson explored a novel use of atoms’ inherent properties. He combined positively charged copper ions with a four-armed molecule, each arm ending in a chemical group attracted to copper. The result was a well-ordered, spacious crystal—akin to a diamond riddled with countless cavities. Robson quickly recognized the potential of this structure, but the early designs were unstable and prone to collapse.

Between 1992 and 2003, Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi built on Robson’s work, providing the molecular architecture with a lasting foundation. Kitagawa demonstrated that gases could flow in and out of the structures and predicted their flexibility. Yaghi, meanwhile, created highly stable MOFs and showed that these frameworks could be rationally modified to gain new, useful properties.

Since their pioneering work, chemists around the world have created tens of thousands of MOFs, unlocking applications that could address some of humanity’s most pressing challenges. These include capturing carbon dioxide, filtering PFAS chemicals from water, breaking down pharmaceutical traces in the environment, and even harvesting water from desert air.

The laureates’ discoveries have opened a new frontier in chemistry, turning MOFs into versatile tools for innovation across industries and research fields.

The Nobel season for the year 2025 began on Monday with the medicine prize, awarded to Mary E Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi for their discoveries related to peripheral immune tolerance, a process that prevents the immune system from attacking the body’s own cells.

On Tuesday, the physics prize went to John Clarke, Michel H Devoret, and John M Martinis for groundbreaking research into quantum tunnelling at macroscopic scales: a phenomenon that could transform digital communications and computing.

Nobel Prize 2025: Medicine award to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi for discoveries in immune tolerance

The week’s announcements will continue with the literature prize on Thursday, followed by the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, and the economics prize next Monday.

All Nobel laureates will receive their awards at the annual ceremony on December 10: the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.

A Swedish inventor and industrialist best known for creating dynamite, Nobel established the prizes in his 1895 will, leaving much of his fortune to honour those whose work “confers the greatest benefit to humankind.”