Overview

• The Royal Swedish Academy honored Susumu Kitagawa (Kyoto University), Richard Robson (University of Melbourne) and Omar Yaghi (UC Berkeley) for developing metal-organic frameworks.
• MOFs are crystals built from metal nodes linked by organic molecules that create highly porous networks, with tens of thousands of distinct structures already synthesized.
• The Nobel committee highlighted applications such as capturing carbon dioxide, harvesting water from desert air, storing toxic gases and catalyzing chemical reactions.
• Scientists quoted in coverage said MOFs could benefit the energy sector through improved carbon filtering and safer, more efficient hydrogen storage.
• Experts also noted that large-scale production and broad industrial deployment have yet to be achieved despite strong promise.