Three Scientists Win 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for Revolutionary 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 metal-organic frameworks.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences made the announcement today, recognizing these three distinguished scientists for their revolutionary contributions to chemical engineering and materials science.

The laureates will share the prestigious prize money of 11 million Swedish crowns (approximately Rs 10 crore), along with the international recognition that accompanies this esteemed honor.

Metal-organic frameworks, the focus of their award-winning research, represent a significant advancement in material science with remarkable practical applications. These innovative structures can extract water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide emissions, provide storage for hazardous gases, and facilitate chemical reactions as catalysts.

Heiner Linke, who chairs the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, emphasized the transformative nature of their work, stating, "Metal-organic frameworks have enormous potential, bringing previously unforeseen opportunities for custom-made materials with new functions."

Kitagawa, who earned his doctorate in hydrocarbon chemistry from Kyoto University in Japan, has previously received prestigious awards including the Humboldt Research Prize (2008) and the De Gennes Prize. He currently serves as a professor at Kyoto University.

Robson, born in the United Kingdom and educated at the University of Oxford where he studied chemistry, now holds a teaching position at the University of Melbourne in Australia.

Yaghi, who was born in Amman, Jordan, completed his doctoral studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and currently teaches at the University of California, Berkeley in the United States.

This announcement follows last year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which was awarded to David Baker and John Jumper, along with British scientist Demis Hassabis, for their pioneering work using computing and artificial intelligence to determine protein structures.

The Nobel Prize for Literature will be announced tomorrow, followed by the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, continuing this year's Nobel Prize announcements.