Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Potential of New Materials Wins High Recognition

Editorial

15:11 JST, October 9, 2025

More good news has arrived for Japan. Susumu Kitagawa, a distinguished professor at Kyoto University, has won this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This splendid accomplishment follows the earlier announcement on Oct. 6 that Shimon Sakaguchi, a specially appointed professor at the University of Osaka, had won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

This brings the total number of Japanese recipients of the three Nobel prizes in the natural sciences, including those who acquired U.S. citizenship, to 27. It can be said that it demonstrates the high level of Japanese research.

Kitagawa was recognized for developing an innovative method of creating new porous materials called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), paving the way for efficient storage and transport of targeted gases.

MOFs are porous materials with a structure resembling a jungle gym. By carefully changing combinations of metal ions and organic molecules as building blocks, the size of the pores and other properties can be freely adjusted.

Kitagawa developed a technology that enables the storage or release of gases by having targeted gas molecules fit into each individual pore.

MOFs possess many pores that are far more precise and microscopic than activated carbon, which is used as a deodorizer, so that just a single gram can have a surface area equivalent to a soccer field.

The most anticipated applications lie in the environmental and energy sectors. If carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, can be absorbed and removed from the air at low cost, it could significantly advance measures against global warming. Considering this immense potential, the award is well deserved.

MOFs have already been put to practical use, such as for transporting gases. This is because gas containers using MOFs can store and transport gases in a stable state.

If hydrogen, methane and other gases can be handled easily, it could support the shift to next-generation energy sources. It is hoped that companies and universities will work together to further advance this technology.

It is gratifying that two Japanese individuals have won Nobel prizes in the same year, the first time this has happened since 2015. However, both Sakaguchi, who won the prize in physiology or medicine, and Kitagawa reportedly faced criticism initially, precisely because their research was so innovative.

Nevertheless, both pursued their research driven by intellectual curiosity and earned the highest honor in the science field.

In the world of science, it is often the case that results are not seen in a short period of time. Even if it is impossible to predict at an early stage what research will be useful for, there are more than a few examples in which unexpected applications were found later.

The government needs to broadly support young researchers’ freedom to pursue their work so that projects with future potential are not nipped in the bud. The hope is that the government will lead research toward grand goals, such as harnessing Japanese-developed technologies to protect the global environment.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Oct. 9, 2025)