Nobel Prize 2025 winners in Chemistry announced: Know where they studied and what they won for
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has announced the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, awarding it jointly to Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University, Japan; Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne, Australia; and Omar M. Yaghi of the University of California, Berkeley, USA. The trio has been recognised for their groundbreaking work on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a class of crystalline materials with extraordinary porous structures that are transforming chemistry, environmental science, and materials engineering.
What they won the Nobel for
The laureates were honored for the development of metal-organic frameworks—molecular architectures made of metal ions linked by long organic molecules. MOFs feature spacious cavities that can be custom-designed to capture, store, or catalyze specific substances. These materials have already been applied in harvesting water from desert air, capturing carbon dioxide, separating toxic gases, conducting electricity, and facilitating chemical reactions. Their work has created a versatile platform for tailor-made materials with far-reaching applications in addressing global challenges.
Susumu Kitagawa
Born in Kyoto, Japan, in 1951, Susumu Kitagawa earned his PhD from Kyoto University in 1979. As a professor at his alma mater, Kitagawa demonstrated the flexibility and gas permeability of MOFs, showing how these porous structures could be used to selectively trap and release gases. His research was instrumental in establishing MOFs as functional, adaptable materials for real-world applications.
Richard Robson
Richard Robson, born in Glusburn, UK, in 1937, completed his PhD at the University of Oxford in 1962. As a professor at the University of Melbourne, Robson pioneered the initial concept of MOFs by combining positively charged copper ions with multi-armed organic molecules to form diamond-like crystals with spacious cavities. Though early frameworks were unstable, his work provided the foundation for Kitagawa and Yaghi’s later breakthroughs.
Omar M. Yaghi
Omar M. Yaghi, born in Amman, Jordan, in 1965, received his PhD from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1990. As a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, Yaghi developed highly stable MOFs and introduced rational design principles, enabling scientists to create frameworks with customisable properties. His contributions have led to tens of thousands of MOF variants, each with significant potential in chemistry, energy storage, and environmental solutions.The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry celebrates these three scientists’ immense contributions, highlighting the transformative potential of molecular design and crystal engineering in modern science and their global impact on solving pressing environmental and technological challenges.
