How three chemists constructed rooms inside molecules and won Nobel

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has announced that the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi for their groundbreaking work in developing metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).

These innovative materials feature a new type of molecular architecture that contains spacious cavities, described as “rooms for chemistry,” through which gases and molecules can flow. Their pioneering research has opened up unprecedented possibilities for designing custom-made materials with functions that address some of society’s most urgent challenges, such as harvesting water from desert air, capturing carbon dioxide, and storing toxic gases.

This year’s Nobel Committee Chair, Heiner Linke, highlighted the transformative potential of MOFs to revolutionis