"Full of Holes" to Save the World? Extracting Water from Desert Air and CO₂ from Production Lines: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Metal-Organic Frameworks

On October 8, 2025, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to the pioneers of "crystals with cavities"—Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs). The laureates are Susumu Kitagawa from Kyoto University, Richard Robson from the University of Melbourne, and Omar Yaghi from the University of California, Berkeley. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences praised them for creating "new rooms for chemistry." The announcement was made on October 8 in Stockholm.NobelPrize.org

MOFs are crystals constructed spatially using metal ions as "columns" and organic molecules (linkers) as "beams." Notably, they feature nano-sized cavities that allow molecules to enter and exit. They hold exceptional potential as the "behind-the-scenes" players in green technologies, such as CO₂ capture, gas separation and storage, hydrogen storage, water collection from desert air, and catalysis.NobelPrize.org

Tracing back the history, Robson demonstrated frame-like crystals in the late 1980s, Yaghi clearly showed "permanent porosity" where the framework remains intact even after solvent removal in the 1990s, and in 1997, Kitagawa vividly illustrated the MOF characteristics of gas adsorption and the accompanying framework expansion and contraction. This accumulation of work determined the "birth of modern MOF chemistry."Phys.org

Media liken their intuitive greatness to "Hermione's bag." The metaphor of a sugar cube-sized MOF containing a surface area equivalent to a soccer field conveys the spatial miracle to general readers. Applications extend to CO₂ and toxic gas capture, PFAS removal, water purification, and resource recovery.Reuters

Social media is also filled with celebrations. The official X of the Nobel Foundation quickly reported the three laureates, and the chemistry community's timelines were flooded with MOF discussions. Kyoto University held a press conference where Kitagawa expressed his joy and outlook. In the U.S., official accounts of UC Berkeley and research institutions also expressed congratulations.X (formerly Twitter)　Kyoto University

In Japan, accounts of science museums and overseas embassies also sent out congratulations. Posts clearly conveying the key point, "The 2025 Chemistry Prize goes to Susumu Kitagawa and others," were shared. Domestic reports also emphasized the topic of "the ninth Chemistry Prize winner in six years since Akira Yoshino." The reason for the award was explained as "the creation of materials with nano-sized gaps," conveying expectations for next-generation energy, especially hydrogen.X (formerly Twitter)

Internationally, there was also interest in Yaghi's background. The Washington Post reported in detail on how he, born into a refugee family, paved his way in academia, connecting chemistry from "beautiful creation" to solving global issues. This context became a source of great pride in the Arab world and diaspora communities.The Washington Post

Episodes from the day of the award also became a topic. AP introduced the "Nobel commonality" of mistaking the award notification for a "spam call" and missing it—such as the small story of Kitagawa initially thinking it was a sales call, spreading smiles.AP News

Of course, it's not all celebratory mood. On Reddit's chemistry cluster, practical perspectives were shared, such as "MOFs are not omnipotent," "Zeolites excel in some areas," and "Industrial scale is still halfway." One user stated, "I love MOFs. But exaggerations like 'everything is okay with MOFs' cloud the discussion," indicating the challenges for the next decade.Reddit

So, what are those challenges? They include durability, stability under humidity, powder handling and molding, and cost during scale-up. The academic community is already deepening discussions on "implementation specifications," and the American Chemical Society (ACS) welcomes the award while emphasizing that the high degree of design freedom is a weapon for practical material design. Meanwhile, Nature points out that while MOFs as "super sponges" hold the key in CO₂ capture and selective separation, optimizing the entire process is essential for industrial applications.American Chemical Society

There are also many bright topics. In Japan, a press conference was held at Kyoto University, where Kitagawa said, "The research that continued to challenge has been recognized." The University of Melbourne praised Robson's long-standing contributions, and Berkeley communicated the interdisciplinary fusion brought about by "reticular chemistry." The publicity from each base became an opportunity to reconnect the journey of individual researchers with the future image of materials.リセマム

MOFs are "hotels for molecules." The size of the rooms (cavities) and the nature of the walls can be designed to match the type and size of the guest molecules. Therefore, they can selectively capture troublesome guests like CO₂ or manage the "time release" of pharmaceutical molecules. The novelty worthy of the Chemistry Prize lies in not just absorbing like a sponge but "selectively working."NobelPrize.org

Finally, this award illuminates the long bridge from "fundamentals to society." The idea of creating large spaces in the microscopic world of crystal lattices directly connected to macro challenges like electricity, water, and resources. Now, when realistic hurdles like scaling, cost, and durability are being discussed head-on, it's the timing for universities, companies, and policies to open the same map. The "new rooms for chemistry" created by MOFs are also workspaces for creating new norms for the Earth.