The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been conferred upon Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi for their pioneering research on metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). This accolade honors their crucial contributions to the advancement of MOFs, a category of materials characterized by exceptional surface area and versatility, which are advantageous for uses such as gas storage, separation, and catalysis. MOFs have generated significant interest from the Nobel Committee, with many experts in the scientific community forecasting their eventual acknowledgment given their profound influence on the chemistry discipline. The efforts of Kitagawa, Robson, and Yaghi have laid the groundwork for continual advancements in material sciences, impacting both scholarly inquiry and practical applications.
In recent decades, MOFs have gained prominence, constituting a notable share of the structures listed in databases like the Cambridge Structural Database. Although they are relatively new, MOFs have already shown promise across various domains, including environmental sustainability and medical care.
MOFs have also gained recognition for their flexibility and have paved the way for new explorations in porous materials, with further advancements anticipated in areas such as carbon capture and pharmaceutical delivery. As the practical applications of MOFs keep broadening, the recognition by the Nobel Committee emphasizes both the historical achievements of these materials and their prospects for future breakthroughs in chemistry and associated fields.