Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 Awarded for Pioneering Metal-Organic Frameworks

Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi have been jointly awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their groundbreaking development of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), as announced by www.nobelprize.org on October 8, 2025. This recognition highlights their pivotal contributions to a new class of molecular architectures with vast potential for addressing critical global challenges [Publisher: www.nobelprize.org].

The laureates' work has unveiled novel porous materials, known as MOFs, which are constructed from metal ions or clusters linked by organic molecules, forming intricate crystalline networks. These unique structures possess large internal cavities, making them exceptionally effective for various applications, according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

MOFs are distinguished by their extraordinary internal surface area; just a few grams of MOF powder can boast a surface area equivalent to a football pitch, as noted by EU Climate Action on October 14, 2025. This remarkable porosity enables them to selectively capture and store gases, extract pollutants, and even facilitate chemical reactions.

The practical implications of MOFs are far-reaching, offering significant solutions for environmental and energy issues. Researchers have demonstrated their ability to capture carbon dioxide, a key greenhouse gas, and to harvest potable water from arid desert air, directly addressing climate change and water scarcity.

Their innovative designs allow for precise engineering of these materials, tailoring them for specific tasks such as gas separation, catalysis, and even drug delivery. This tunability makes MOFs a versatile platform for future technological advancements, as explained by Professor Andang Widi Harto, a materials engineering expert, on October 23, 2025.

The Nobel Committee for Chemistry emphasized that MOFs bring "unforeseen opportunities for custom-made materials with new functions," according to a statement from NobelPrize.org on October 8, 2025. This award celebrates the foundational work that has enabled chemists to design tens of thousands of different MOFs, opening new avenues for scientific discovery and practical application.

Professor Omar Yaghi, one of the laureates, has expressed confidence that MOF technology can help solve the global water crisis and carbon emissions, stating that prototypes have successfully pulled water from thin air in Death Valley, as reported by The Wall Street Journal on October 28, 2025. His startup, Atoco, aims to commercialize these solutions by late 2026.

• Historical Genesis and Early Contributions: The conceptual groundwork for MOFs began in the 1970s with Richard Robson, who, inspired by building molecular models for chemistry lectures, envisioned constructing crystalline structures from molecules and chemical bonds. His pioneering work in the late 1980s and early 1990s led to the creation of coordination polymers with inherent void spaces, though these early structures often lacked stability. Robson's initial insights laid the foundation for what would become MOFs, demonstrating that rational design could lead to crystals with spacious interiors optimized for specific chemicals, according to India Today on October 14, 2025.

• Pioneering Stability and Reticular Chemistry: Omar M. Yaghi significantly advanced the field in 1995 by demonstrating the crystallization of stable, porous metal-organic structures using strong carboxylate-based linkers. He further introduced the concept of secondary building units (SBUs) in 1998 and, in 1999, developed MOF-5, a landmark material known for its ultra-high porosity and structural robustness. Yaghi coined the term "reticular chemistry" to describe this approach of "stitching molecular building blocks into extended structures by strong bonds," a field that has seen exponential growth in new material creation, as detailed by UC Berkeley Research.

• Developing Flexible and Functional Frameworks: Susumu Kitagawa's contributions were crucial in demonstrating the dynamic capabilities of MOFs. In 1997, his research group successfully created three-dimensional MOFs with open channels that could absorb and release gases without structural collapse. Kitagawa also predicted the flexibility of these frameworks, showing that they could adapt to accommodate guest molecules, a property that was initially met with skepticism from research funders who favored traditional, rigid materials like zeolites, according to nobelprize.org.

• Diverse Applications and Environmental Impact: MOFs have emerged as highly versatile materials with applications spanning gas storage, separation, catalysis, and environmental remediation. They are particularly effective in carbon capture, with materials like CALF-20 (Calgary Framework-20) demonstrating exceptional CO2 absorption capacity and industrial scalability, as highlighted by the BOE Report on October 29, 2025. Beyond carbon, MOFs can store hydrogen for clean energy and remove various pollutants from water, offering cleaner and more efficient alternatives to existing technologies.

• Addressing Water Scarcity: One of the most impactful applications of MOFs is atmospheric water harvesting, particularly in arid regions. These materials can draw water from the air even at low humidity levels, such as 25% relative humidity typical of the Sahara desert, as reported by stanford Microfluidics Laboratory. MOF-based devices have been developed and tested in real-world desert conditions, demonstrating the ability to produce significant amounts of potable water with low energy consumption, often utilizing ambient sunlight for desorption, according to novomof and ACS Central Science.

• Future Outlook and Commercialization: The development of MOFs represents a significant leap in materials science, comparable to the discovery of zeolites, according to Professor Andang Widi Harto. While challenges remain in ensuring long-term stability, scalability, and energy efficiency for regeneration, ongoing research is focused on overcoming these hurdles. The commercialization of MOF technology is already underway, with companies like Atoco, founded by Nobel laureate Omar Yaghi, planning to offer MOF-based solutions for water harvesting and carbon capture by late 2026, aiming to provide sustainable solutions for global challenges.