Chemistry 2025 · Announced Oct 8
They built molecular sponges full of rooms.
Shared by three people
In plain words
They linked metal atoms with long molecules to make crystals full of empty space. Gases and liquids can flow in and out of the holes.
Why it matters
These frameworks can pull water from desert air, trap carbon dioxide, and store gases. One gram can have the inside area of a football field.
The official reason
"for the development of metal–organic frameworks"
36
years from Robson's first framework (1989) to the prize
The long road
- 1989Robson builds a roomy crystal from copper and long molecules.
- 1997Kitagawa shows gases can move in and out of such frameworks.
- 1999Yaghi makes MOF-5, a very stable framework.
- 2025Nobel Prize in Chemistry.