The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi for their contributions to the development of metal-organic frameworks.
The Academy announced the laureates and their key achievements during a ceremony. This year’s chemistry laureates created molecular structures with large cavities through which gases and other chemicals can flow, known as metal-organic frameworks. These materials can be used to collect moisture from desert air, capture carbon dioxide, store toxic gases, or catalyze chemical reactions.
“Metal-organic frameworks hold enormous potential, offering unprecedented opportunities to create customized materials with new functions,” stated the Nobel Chemistry Committee.
Following the laureates’ breakthrough discoveries, chemists have constructed tens of thousands of different types of metal-organic framework materials. Some of these materials may help address many major challenges facing humanity.
Metal-organic frameworks have significant application value in many fields and are closely related to our daily lives. For example, in addressing climate change, a crucial step in carbon capture technology is separating carbon dioxide from other gases. Currently, the separation step accounts for about 70% of the total carbon capture cost. Using metal-organic framework materials to adsorb and separate carbon dioxide could potentially significantly reduce costs.
Susumu Kitagawa was born in 1951 in Japan and is a professor at Kyoto University; Richard Robson was born in 1937 in the UK and is a professor at the University of Melbourne; Omar M. Yaghi was born in 1965 in Jordan and is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
The three laureates will share the prize money of 11 million Swedish kronor (approximately $1.17 million).
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is a prestigious independent scientific society founded in 1739 in Stockholm to promote the sciences, particularly mathematics and natural sciences. It is globally renowned for its role in selecting the laureates for the Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry, as well as for the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is an annual international award established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895. It is presented by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to recognize groundbreaking contributions to the field of chemistry, with the first prize awarded in 1901 to Jacobus Henricus van ‘t Hoff.
Kyoto University
Kyoto University is one of Japan’s most prestigious national universities, founded in 1897 during the Meiji era to be a center of academic freedom and innovation. It has produced numerous Nobel laureates and is renowned for its significant contributions to scientific research, particularly in the fields of physics, chemistry, and medicine.
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is Australia’s second oldest university, founded in 1853. It is a prestigious public research institution located in Melbourne, Victoria, known for its historic sandstone buildings and significant contributions to education and research.
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley is a public land-grant research university founded in 1868. It is the flagship campus of the University of California system and is renowned for its history of academic excellence, scientific achievement, and its prominent role in the 1960s Free Speech Movement.
Swedish kronor
“Swedish kronor” refers to the official currency of Sweden, not a physical place or cultural site. The krona, meaning “crown,” was introduced in 1873 when Sweden joined the Scandinavian Monetary Union, replacing the former riksdaler. Today, it remains Sweden’s national currency, managed by the country’s central bank, Sveriges Riksbank.
