Omar Yaghi, affiliated with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and UC Berkeley's College of Chemistry, has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The award recognizes his work in developing metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and establishing reticular chemistry, a scientific field focused on designing and synthesizing new MOF structures.
Understanding Metal-Organic Frameworks
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) were developed in the 1990s as hybrid materials. They are constructed by linking metal atoms or clusters with organic molecules in repeating patterns, forming porous crystalline structures. The composition and structure of MOFs can be modified to selectively capture and separate gases and liquids.
These materials are characterized by large internal surface areas; for example, one MOF synthesized in Yaghi's laboratory exhibits approximately 4,000 square meters of surface area per gram. Estimates indicate that over 100,000 distinct MOF structures have been synthesized and studied to date.
MOFs have a range of potential applications, including:
- Next-generation batteries and supercapacitors
- Targeted drug delivery platforms
- Water-harvesting systems
- Recovery of critical minerals from wastewater
- Chemical sensors for medical diagnostics and environmental management
- Catalysts for energy technologies and chemical synthesis
- Conductors for electronic devices
Foundational Research and Development
Yaghi's early work in reticular chemistry was conducted at Arizona State University, the University of Michigan, and UCLA. Key studies cited by the Nobel committee received funding from the DOE Office of Science's Basic Energy Sciences (BES) program, which supports fundamental scientific research for energy technologies.
This foundational work includes a 1999 Nature study from the Yaghi Lab, which introduced a design strategy for creating the first stable MOF. This achievement followed a period of scientific community research focused on developing functional MOFs. In 2012, Yaghi joined UC Berkeley and Berkeley Lab, where he became director of the Molecular Foundry, a DOE Office of Science nanoscience user facility. Research into MOFs expanded during this period.
Role of National User Facilities
MOF researchers, including Yaghi, have utilized Office of Science user facilities such as Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry, the Advanced Light Source (ALS), and the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory. These facilities support the synthesis of new MOFs and the analysis of their structures and performance. Yaghi's work associated with the ALS includes over 60 publications and contributes to the rationale for an upcoming ALS upgrade, designed to enhance the facility's capabilities for future scientific research, including MOF studies.
Further, researchers use X-rays and neutrons from DOE-supported national laboratories to investigate how molecules interact with MOF pores, providing insights for material improvement. Computational resources such as the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) are also employed to simulate MOF atomic structures and optimize synthesis processes.
Diverse Applications and Ongoing Research
Research at Berkeley Lab and its DOE user facilities continues to advance MOF technology for various applications:
- Water Harvesting: A team led by Yaghi at the ALS investigated MOF water absorption and engineered more efficient versions for atmospheric water harvesting. This technology is being commercialized by Waha, Inc.
- Energy Storage: A team led by joint Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley scientist Jeffrey Long used the ALS to examine flexible MOFs for natural gas storage, a development with potential to extend the range of adsorbed-natural-gas vehicles.
- Environmental Remediation: An international team utilized the ALS to study a MOF designed to trap sulfur dioxide gas, a pollutant from industrial sources. Additionally, luminous MOFs (LMOFs) capable of capturing mercury and lead for water purification have been designed.
- Enhanced Conductivity: Materials scientists at UC Berkeley and the Molecular Foundry developed a technique to increase the electrical conductivity of certain MOFs by up to 10,000 times. This advancement expands MOF potential for advanced batteries, energy storage, fuel cells, and gas-to-fuel technologies.
- Chemical Conversion: Molecular Foundry researchers created a self-assembling MOF capable of extracting gas emissions from the air and converting them into useful chemicals and fuels.
- Oxygen Production: Long's group used the Molecular Foundry and NERSC to design a zinc, copper, and chlorine-based MOF that extracts oxygen from air at room temperature, a development that could reduce costs for industrial and medical oxygen production.