Today's Edition
(AGENCIES)
The Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded Wednesday to a trio of researchers for their work in developing porous molecular structures that can be used in addressing major global challenges, including water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
The winners are Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University in Japan, Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne in Australia, and Omar Yaghi of the University of California at Berkeley.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences credited them with developing "a new form of molecular architecture” that "may contribute to solving some of humankind’s greatest challenges.” The academy said that researchers have already used the trio’s molecular structures - known as metal-organic frameworks - to harvest water from desert air, extract pollutants from water, capture carbon dioxide and store hydrogen.
"This type of material … can be created with almost unlimited variations, creating unending possibilities for the greatest benefit to humankind,” Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, said while announcing the award from Stockholm.
The scientists’ work spanned from late 1980s into the early 2000s. First, Robson began testing various ways to build the structures - though they were unstable and easily collapsed. The other two scientists built, separately, on this work, with Kitagawa showing that gases can flow in and out of these constructions, and Yaghi finding a way to stabilise it.
On Wednesday, after the award was announced, the Nobel chemistry chair presented a model of the molecular structure: It looked like a skeletal, 3D shape that might be assembled with magnetic sticks. Linke likened the structure to "Hermione’s handbag in Harry Potter” - which can hold more than appears.
"It can store huge amounts of gas in a tiny volume,” he said.
Olof Ramström, a member of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, compared the structures to tiny house frames - with the ions as nails and long, organic, carbon-based molecules as wooden planks. But unlike with houses, the ions and molecules assemble by themselves.
Scientists had long envisioned the potential of metal-organic frameworks - but had struggled, until Robson’s breakthroughs, to assemble them in predictable ways, Ramström said.
Now, Ramström said, the structures can even be customised for certain kinds of absorption.
"Industry became very interested in these materials,” he said.
Still, the potential of these structures has, so far, mostly played out in laboratories and smaller-scale trials. One market report said that metal-organic frameworks, though promising, "have not yet been demonstrated on an industrial scale.” In 2023, chemicals and plastics multinational BASF said it was the first company to produce the frameworks on a commercial scale for carbon capture.
Carbon capture involves trapping the greenhouse gas from sources like power plants, or even removing it from the air. The concept has its detractors, and climate activists often call it an excuse for polluters to keep putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. But supporters say it’s a promising way to cut emissions from hard-to-clean-up industries such as cement, steel and chemicals. UN assessments say some carbon capture is "unavoidable” if humanity wants to stave off climate disaster.
The prize carries a cash reward of 11 million Swedish kroner, or about $1.17 million, which the three will share.
In a phone call during the announcement ceremony, Kitagawa, 74, said he was "deeply honored and delighted” about the news.
Yaghi, 60, an American citizen born in Jordan whose parents were Palestinian refugees, said in a Berkeley news release that he felt "astonishment” about the honor, which he had learned about during a layover en route to a conference in Belgium. He is still planning to lead a session there Thursday.
Yaghi is the founder of Atoco, a company that promotes water harvesting and the notion of "ultra energy-efficient” carbon capture. Referencing the engineered molecular materials, Yaghi is quoted on its website as saying, "It won’t be something big, but actually something pretty small that can transform our planet.”
