Nobel Prize in Chemistry Honors Three Experts for Groundbreaking Work on MOF Structures
The prestigious award in the field of chemistry goes to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M Yaghi for their seminal contributions on MOFs.
The scientists' investigations may help tackle numerous pressing global problems, such as capturing carbon dioxide to fight environmental shifts or curbing plastic pollution through sophisticated scientific methods.
“I feel tremendously honored and overjoyed, many thanks,” stated the Japanese scientist via a telephone conversation with the news conference subsequent to learning the announcement.
“How much time must I spend here? I need to leave for a scheduled meeting,” the laureate continued.
The three winners will share prize money amounting to SEK 11 million (equivalent to £872,000).
Framework Construction at the Core of the Breakthrough
The researchers' studies focuses on how molecules are built together into elaborate frameworks. The Nobel committee referred to it as “structural molecular engineering”.
The scientists devised techniques to construct frameworks with large voids amid the units, permitting gases and other chemicals to flow via them.
These compounds are referred to as metal-organic frameworks.
The announcement was presented by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences at a news conference in Stockholm.
Susumu Kitagawa is affiliated with the University of Kyoto in Japan, Prof. Robson is associated with the Melbourne University in Australia, and Omar Yaghi is at the University of California in the US.
Recent Nobel Laureates in Scientific Categories
During the prior award cycle, three other scientists won the award for their work on protein structures, which are essential building blocks of biological systems.
It is the 3rd science prize given recently. Previously, three physicists earned the Physics Nobel for their contributions on quantum mechanics that facilitated the advancement of the quantum processor.
At the start of the week, 3 experts' studies on how the biological immunity targets hostile infections won them the award for medical science.
One winner, Dr. Ramsdell, was unaware of the notification for nearly a day because he was on an disconnected hiking trip.
