Research on metal-organic frameworks gets the chemistry Nobel Prize

STOCKHOLM — Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi share the Nobel Prize in chemistry for their work in the development of metal–organic frameworks.

Hans Ellegren, secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, announced the chemistry prize in Stockholm on Wednesday. It was the third prize announced this week.

The Nobel committee said that the three laureates “have created molecular constructions with large spaces through which gases and other chemicals can flow.”

“These constructions, metal-organic frameworks, can be used to harvest water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide, store toxic gases or catalyse chemical reactions,” the Nobel Committee said in a statement.

Robson, 88, is affiliated with the University of Melbourne in Australia, Kitagawa, 74, with Japan’s Kyoto University and Yaghi, 60, with the University of California, Berkeley.

The trio’s research dates back to 1989.

“Metal-organic frameworks have enormous potential, bringing previously unforeseen opportunities for custom-made materials with new functions,” Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, said in a news release.

There have been 116 chemistry prizes given to 195 individuals between 1901 and 2024.

The literature prize will come on Thursday, followed by the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday and the economics prize on Monday.

The award ceremony will be held Dec. 10, the anniversary of the 1896 death of Alfred Nobel, who founded the prizes.