U.S. scientist among trio awarded chemistry Nobel for developing new molecular architecture

Scientists Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday for developing a new form of molecular architecture.

Kitagawa is a professor at Kyoto University in Japan while Robson is a professor at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and Yaghi is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States.

“Through the development of metal-organic frameworks, the laureates have provided chemists with new opportunities for solving some of the challenges we face,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.

The trio created molecular constructions that can be used to harvest water from desert air and capture carbon dioxide, the academy said.

“They have found ways to create materials, entirely novel materials, with large cavities on their inside which can be seen almost like rooms in a hotel, so that guest molecules can enter and also exit again from the same material,” said Heiner Linke, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.

“A small amount of such material can be almost like Hermione’s handbag in Harry Potter. It can store huge amounts of gas in a tiny volume,” he added.