Three scientists who developed materials like Harry Potter won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Kitamura of Kyoto University in Japan, Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne in Australia, and Omar M. Goat of the University of California, Berkeley, received prestigious awards “for the development of metal frameworks.”
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In the Harry Potter series, Hermione Granger has a magical handbag that can carry more objects than it would be possible, like the kingbag that corresponds to Taldis from Doctor Who.
Unlike Hermione’s bag, the new molecular architecture developed by the Nobel Prize winners does not break the laws of physics, but works in a similar way. Metal organic frameworks are composed of metal ions bound by long organic molecules. These ions and molecules are arranged to form crystals with large cavities and can be used to capture and store material.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the winners at a ceremony held in Stockholm, Sweden on Wednesday (October 8th). This is the 117th Nobel Prize in Chemistry and comes with a 11 million Swedish Croner ($1.2 million).
“I am deeply honored that my years of research are recognized,” Kitagawa said over the phone at a press conference, adding that the most important potential application of his work is to separate the material from the air.
The researchers’ research began in 1989 when Robson combined actively charged copper atoms into four arm molecules to form a spacious diamond-like crystal filled with countless small compartments. Yaghi and Kitagawa followed this up between 1992 and 2003 with a work showing the possibility of gas flowing through this metal-organic framework. It also makes it more stable, flexible and modifiable for its own properties.
Since these discoveries, other researchers have developed countless metal-organic frameworks and use them to make semiconductors, catalyze harvesting from desert air, chemical reactions, and break down harmful chemicals and pollutants including PFA “eternal chemicals”, plastics, Paramassety spills, and chemical weapons.
However, the framework’s biggest applications may be in the future. They are now being tested in capturing carbon dioxide released by factories and power plants.
“My dream is to separate the air from the air,” Kitagawa said. “For example, if it’s CO2, or oxygen, or water, then we use renewable energy to convert it into useful materials.”
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