Chemistry Nobel awarded for work on new materials that could help planet

Chemistry Nobel awarded for work on new materials that could help planet "How long do I have to stay here? Because I have to go out for a meeting," he added. "I'm deeply honoured and delighted, thank you very much," said Professor Kitagawa on the phone to a press conference after he was told the news. The three scientists' work could tackle some of the biggest problems on our planet, including capturing carbon dioxide to help tackle climate change and reducing plastic pollution using chemistry. The Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M Yaghi for their work on metal-organic frameworks. Professor Kitagawa works at Kyoto University in Japan, Professor Richard Robson is at University of Melbourne, Australia, and Professor Omar M Yaghi is at the University of California, US. The three winners will share prize money of 11 million Swedish kronor (£872,000). The scientists' work is about how molecules can be built together into structures - or metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The Nobel committee called it "molecular architecture". The men worked out how to build constructions with large spaces between the molecules, through which gases and other chemicals can flow. These "rooms" can be used to capture and store chemicals that humans want to get rid of, including carbon dioxide in the atmosphere or so-called forever chemicals, also known as PFAS. The scientists began working independently on the structures in the 1970s and 1980s. Prof Robson asked his university to drill holes into the lab worktops so that wooden balls - representing atoms - could be attached to wooden rods, representing chemical bonds. So far MOFs have only been used on a small-scale, but companies are looking into whether they can be mass-produced. One potential application is to break down harmful gases, including those used in nuclear weapons. Companies are also testing whether they can be used to capture the planet-warming gas carbon dioxide from power stations and factories. Professor Robson, who was born in North Yorkshire but has been based at the University of Melbourne since 1966, told BBC Newshour that the news "wasn't a big surprise [because of] all sorts of sounds I've been hearing over the years". When asked about the potential applications of his work he urged caution: "There's talk about binding CO2 and solving the world's atmospheric problems, which don't sound realistic to me - but these sorts of compounds could do that sort of job on a small scale". The 88-year-old professor admits the prize money "is the main thing actually in my head. It wasn't the driving force for all of this but at this stage in my life that's a very nice thought to have". The award is another indicator of the value of chemistry in addressing some of the planet's hardest problems. "Every year we see Nobel Prizes given to chemists who welcome the challenge of finding solutions to the biggest problems our global society faces – better healthcare, environmental protection, clean energy, and secure food and water for everyone," said Dr Annette Doherty, president of the Royal Society of Chemistry in Britain