THE NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY

A 1986 DNA model used by Aziz Sancar, who was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

About the prize

“The said interest shall be divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: /- – -/ one part to the person who shall have made the most important chemical discovery or improvement…” (Excerpt from the will of Alfred Nobel.)

Chemistry was the most important science for Alfred Nobel’s own work. The development of his inventions as well as the industrial processes he employed were based upon chemical knowledge. Chemistry was the second prize area that Nobel mentioned in his will.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.

See all chemistry laureates or learn about the nomination process.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025

Their molecular architecture contains rooms for chemistry

The Nobel Prize laureates in chemistry 2025 have created molecular constructions with large spaces through which gases and other chemicals can flow. These constructions, metal–organic frameworks, can be used to harvest water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide, store toxic gases or catalyse chemical reactions.

Through the development of metal–organic frameworks, the laureates have provided chemists with new opportunities for solving some of the challenges we face.

Press release
Popular information: They have created new rooms for chemistry
Scientific background: Metal–organic frameworks

The 2025 chemistry laureates

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi “for the development of metal–organic frameworks.”

The laureates developed a new type of molecular architecture. The constructions they created – metal–organic frameworks – contain large cavities in which molecules can flow in and out. Researchers have used them to harvest water from desert air, extract pollutants from water, capture carbon dioxide and store hydrogen.

The Nobel Prize laureates in Chemistry 2025 — Ill. Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach

Did you know?

3 chemistry discoveries that changed lives

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1964

Mapping molecules

Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin’s work determining the 3D structure of molecules had immediate implications. Her map of the structure of penicillin made the drug easier to manufacture.

Molecular model of penicillin by Dorothy Hodgkin, c.1945. — Photo: Science Museum London/Science and Society Picture Library [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1961

Carbon dioxide assimilation

Melvin Calvin showed how plants convert carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and created a clear picture of a complicated sequence of reactions.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018

Enzyme revolution

Frances Arnold conducted the first directed evolution of enzymes. The uses of results include more environmentally friendly manufacturing of chemical substances.

Chemistry Laureate Frances Arnold in the laboratory — Chemistry laureate Frances Arnold in the laboratory.

Photo kindly provided by Caltech

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Questions and answers

What are the Nobel Prize categories?

The Nobel Prize categories are physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace and were laid out in the will of Alfred Nobel. Find out more in the FAQ.

The Nobel Prize medal.

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Clément Morin.

Nobel Prizes and laureates

Model depicting a molecule that chemistry laureate Akira Suzuki successfully created by artificial means.

Photo: Nobel Prize Museum

All Nobel Prizes in Chemistry

See the full list of chemistry prizes and laureates

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Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019

What did they discover?

The discovery of the 2019 chemistry laureates have a huge everyday impact for us. But what did they discover?

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19 remarkable scientists and their stories

Explore a storytelling experience that celebrates and explores the contributions, careers and lives of 19 women who have been awarded Nobel Prizes for their scientific achievements.

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Articles in chemistry

Featured laureates

Ernest Rutherford

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1908 for his investigations into the disintegration of the elements, and the chemistry of radioactive substances.

Marie Curie, née Skłodowska

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1911 in recognition of her services to the advancement of chemistry by the discovery of the elements radium and polonium, by the isolation of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this remarkable element.

Nobel Prize in Physics 1903 in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel.