British Nobel Winner Pioneers Material With Magical Properties

A renowned British chemist, Professor Richard Robson, has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for technology that could transform industries from energy to environmental protection. Robson, who began his life in Yorkshire and has spent most of his career in Melbourne, shares the accolade with Japan’s Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi of the United States. Their collective achievement, the invention of metal-organic frameworks or MOFs, puts them at the vanguard of materials science.

MOFs are extraordinary crystalline structures built from metal atoms linked by organic molecules. These combinations yield microscopic scaffolds containing vast numbers of large, empty cavities. To put it in perspective, a chunk the size of a sugar cube can hold as much internal surface area as a football pitch. This immense space imbues MOFs with their value, endowing them with an almost magical capacity to capture gases, filter pollutants, and store energy.

Potential commercial applications for MOFs are vast. They are being trialled for carbon dioxide capture from industrial emissions, the extraction of rare earth elements, purification of water contaminated by persistent chemicals, and even harvesting water from arid desert air. Researchers are now also exploring medicinal uses, such as encapsulating drugs for targeted delivery.

The Nobel committee drew a vivid analogy with Hermione Granger’s enchanted bag from the Harry Potter series, suggesting MOFs possess the capacity to store far more than seems physically conceivable. Robson’s foundational work, dating back to the late 1980s, demonstrated that metal ions could be linked with organic molecules to form solid crystals with regular, repeating internal spaces. At the time, this structure defied prior understanding of solid-state chemistry.

Robson’s early breakthroughs proved that open, three-dimensional networks were achievable. Kitagawa advanced the field further by showing that these porous frameworks could absorb and release gases, as well as behave flexibly. Yaghi subsequently succeeded in developing robust versions that could be tailored for various purposes. The chemistry community has since synthesised tens of thousands of distinct MOFs, each designed for specific applications by altering their constituent building blocks.

This year’s prize is testament to decades of patient research, now on the cusp of delivering commercial dividends—particularly in areas demanding advanced materials for energy, filtration, and catalysis. The prize, valued at nearly £870,000, will be shared by the three scientists, who expressed delight at being recognised together. Their work unlocks previously unforeseen opportunities for bespoke materials with remarkable new functions, heralding exciting prospects for future innovation.