Metal‑Organic Frameworks Win 2025 Chemistry Nobel
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry honored the development of metal‑organic frameworks (MOFs), molecular "cages" whose cavities Nobel Committee chair Heiner Linke likened to "rooms in a hotel" for guest molecules. Researcher Susumu Kitagawa said he aims to use MOFs to capture air, separate CO2 and oxygen, and convert CO2 into useful materials with renewable energy, while biologists and engineers pursue applications from drug delivery to water extraction and carbon capture.
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📌 Key Facts
- Metal‑Organic Frameworks (MOFs) won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
- Nobel Committee Chair Heiner Linke likened MOF cavities to "rooms in a hotel" for guest molecules.
- Laureate Susumu Kitagawa said his goal is to capture air, separate CO2 and oxygen, and convert CO2 to useful materials using renewable energy.
- The award-winning work is described as designing "molecular cages" — a way of building porous frameworks to host and control other molecules.
- Science reports biologists are exploring MOFs for biomedical uses, notably as vehicles for drug delivery.
- Science highlights major environmental applications of MOFs, including extracting water from air and capturing/separating carbon dioxide.
📰 Sources (2)
Architects of molecular cages win chemistry Nobel
New information:
- Direct quotes from Nobel Committee Chair Heiner Linke likening MOF cavities to 'rooms in a hotel' for guest molecules.
- Quotation from Susumu Kitagawa expressing a specific goal: to capture air, separate CO2 and oxygen, and convert CO2 to useful materials using renewable energy.
- Science.org highlights biologists' efforts to use MOFs for drug delivery alongside environmental applications (water extraction, carbon capture).