Trio win Nobel chemistry prize for developing 'Hermione's handbag' materials

A screen displays a Nobel Prize medal ahead of the announcement of the Nobel Prize in Chemisty, at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, in Stockholm, Sweden, October 8, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Little

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Scientists Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi won the 2025 Nobel chemistry prize for developing a new form of molecular architecture, yielding materials that can help tackle challenges such as climate change and lack of fresh water.

The three laureates worked to create molecular constructions with large spaces through which gases and other chemicals can flow and that can be utilised to harvest water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide or store toxic gases.