The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University, Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne, and Omar M. Yaghi of the University of California, Berkeley, for their pioneering work on metal–organic frameworks (MOFs).

Announcing the winners, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the trio received the award for “creating new rules” in chemistry by designing a new form of molecular architecture.

According to the Academy’s statement, “they have developed 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 (MOFs).”

By adjusting these building blocks, chemists can customize MOFs to capture or store specific substances, drive chemical reactions, or even conduct electricity.

The foundation for this discovery was laid in 1989, when Richard Robson experimented with copper ions and a four-armed molecule, creating crystals full of tiny cavities. However, his early structures were unstable. When refined, they bonded into a stable, well-ordered crystal,  like a diamond filled with countless pores.

Between 1992 and 2003, Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi took the concept further. Kitagawa demonstrated that gases could flow through these frameworks and revealed their flexibility. Yaghi later developed highly stable MOFs that could be modified for specific purposes.

“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.

The award celebrates how MOFs have transformed material science, allowing chemists to design precise structures for applications in energy, storage, catalysis, and more.

Other 2025 Nobel winners

Earlier this week, the Nobel Prize in Physics went to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John M. Martinis for their work on quantum tunnelling and energy quantisation in electric circuits.
 The Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Dr. Shimon Sakaguchi for explaining how the immune system distinguishes harmful pathogens from the body’s own cells.

In 2024, the Chemistry Nobel was shared by David Baker for computational protein design and Demis Hassabis with John M. Jumper for advances in predicting protein structures.

Since its inception in 1901, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded 116 times to 195 individual laureates, with two people winning twice, Frederick Sanger and Barry Sharpless.

The youngest Chemistry laureate remains Frédéric Joliot, who won at age 35 in 1935 alongside his wife Irène Joliot-Curie. The oldest is John B. Goodenough, who received the award at age 97 in 2019.

Of the 195 recipients, only eight have been women, including Marie Curie and Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin. Marie Curie and her daughter Irène Joliot-Curie remain the only mother-daughter duo to have each won the Chemistry Nobel.

Each Nobel laureate will receive 11 million Swedish kronor (around $1 million), as stated in the will of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor who founded the awards. The formal prize ceremony will take place on December 10, marking the anniversary of Nobel’s death.

The next announcements include the Literature Prize on October 9, the Peace Prize on October 10, and the Economic Sciences Prize on October 13.