Susumu Kitagawa, Kyoto University professor, wins 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Susumu Kitagawa’s breakthrough work on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has earned him the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His research opens doors to cleaner air, better water purification, and advanced materials. In this profile, we trace his life, lab, accomplishments, and what the Nobel means for science and society.
Susumu Kitagawa (born 4 July 1951, Kyoto, Japan) is a Japanese chemist known for pioneering porous coordination polymers / MOFs in the chemistry world.
He currently holds positions at Kyoto University, including Distinguished Professor, and serves in leadership roles at KUIAS (Kyoto University Institute for Advanced Study).
His field blends inorganic chemistry, materials chemistry, and coordination space chemistry — studying how metal ions and organic molecules can form structures with built-in “rooms” or pores.
In October 2025, Kitagawa won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, jointly with Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi, “for the development of metal-organic frameworks.” The Nobel committee praised their “molecular architecture” that contains large internal spaces, enabling gases and chemicals to flow in and out.
They likened some of their materials to Hermione’s magical handbag, since a material the size of a sugar cube can have an internal surface area comparable to a football pitch. Kitagawa was recognised especially for demonstrating that such frameworks can be stable, dynamic, and functionally tunable.
Susumu Kitagawa received the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing the world’s first stable porous coordination polymer and pioneering the field of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).
His innovations allow materials to trap, store, and release molecules in a controlled way — critical for applications such as carbon capture, clean hydrogen storage, and environmental purification. The Nobel Committee praised Kitagawa’s research for its “transformative impact on chemistry, sustainability, and material design.”
As of 2025, Susumu Kitagawa’s estimated net worth ranges between $1 million and $3 million USD. His income primarily comes from research positions, academic roles, global awards, and the Nobel Prize, which includes a monetary reward of around 11 million Swedish kronor (approx. $1 million USD).
As of 2025, Susumu Kitagawa’s estimated net worth ranges between INR 85,000,000 to INR 26,62,36,800.
Born in 1951, Susumu Kitagawa is 74 years old in 2025. Despite his age, he continues to lead active research at Kyoto University and mentor young scientists worldwide.
In his lab at Kyoto, Kitagawa focuses on designing and synthesising new porous materials — often called porous coordination polymers or metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). He was among the first to demonstrate that coordination polymers can be porous, using gas adsorption experiments in 1997.
A hallmark of his work is exploring flexible or “soft” MOFs, ones that respond to external stimuli (guest molecules, pressure, temperature) by changing shape or configuration. His lab collaborates globally, publishing extensively on synthesis, structure, gas sorption, separation, and applications in energy, environment, catalysis, and storage.
Over his remarkable career, Susumu Kitagawa has received numerous international awards:
Kitagawa’s work on MOFs is not just academic. These materials promise real solutions to pressing problems:
His legacy also lies in pushing materials science to think in terms of nanoscale “rooms” or space architecture, where the design of internal pores is as critical as the chemical composition.
