The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M Yaghi for work on metal-organic frameworks.

The Nobel Prize laureates in chemistry 2025 created a new form of molecular architecture. In their constructions, metal ions function as cornerstones that are linked by long organic (carbon-based) molecules. Together, the metal ions and molecules are organised to form crystals that contain large cavities. These porous materials are called metal–organic frameworks (MOF). These can be made to capture and store specific substances, including capturing carbon dioxide to help tackle climate change and reducing plastic pollution using chemistry.

“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.

Following the laureates’ groundbreaking discoveries, chemists have built tens of thousands of different MOFs. Some of these may contribute to solving some of humankind’s greatest challenges, with applications that include separating PFAS from water, breaking down traces of pharmaceuticals in the environment, capturing carbon dioxide or harvesting water from desert air.

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