STOCKHOLM: Japanese scientist Susumu Kitagawa, along with two others, won the Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday for developing porous materials that can store and release gases such as natural gas, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.
Kitagawa became the 31st Japanese Nobel laureate, following Shimon Sakaguchi, a 74-year-old distinguished professor at the University of Osaka who won the physics prize on Monday for his team’s groundbreaking discoveries on how the immune system is kept in check.
The three, including Kitagawa, a 74-year-old distinguished professor at Kyoto University, were recognized for their work on so-called metal-organic frameworks – networks of metal ions and organic molecules that can capture and release gases – and for predicting that such structures could be flexible, the academy said.
Kitagawa’s co-winners are Richard Robson, a professor at the University of Melbourne in Australia, and Omar Yaghi, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States.
After Robson discovered a well-ordered, spacious crystal in 1989, Kitagawa and Yaghi independently improved the fragile material between 1992 and 2003, making it more stable, flexible and tunable through rational design.
“It is a tremendous honor, and I’m truly moved,” Kitagawa said at a press conference after the announcement, adding that teamwork among the three led to the award.
Metal-organic frameworks “can be used to harvest water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide, store toxic gases or catalyse chemical reactions,” the academy said in a statement.
Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, also said, “Metal-organic frameworks have enormous potential, bringing previously unforeseen opportunities for custom-made materials with new functions.”
At the news conference, Kitagawa said there are “limitless hardships” in his research, but the key to success is to “stay curious and keep taking on challenges.”
After earning his Ph.D. from Kyoto University in 1979, Kitagawa taught at Kindai University in Osaka Prefecture and Tokyo Metropolitan University before returning to his alma mater as a professor.
Kitagawa was “good at motivating students,” said Shigeyuki Masaoka, a 48-year-old professor at the University of Osaka who studied in Kitagawa’s laboratory for five years, reflecting on his time there.
Masaoka said he had been inspired by Kitagawa’s attitude of enjoying research, adding, “Even now, I remember the professor’s words and reflect on what to do in tough times.”
Kitagawa has received several awards at home and abroad, including the Medal with Purple Ribbon from the Japanese government.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba released a statement saying he feels proud to acknowledge Kitagawa’s “discovery of truth through his ingenious ideas,” adding that the award, following Sakaguchi’s, will “greatly encourage the people.”
Kitagawa became the ninth Japanese recipient of the Nobel Prize in chemistry and the first in six years since Akira Yoshino, an honorary fellow at Japanese chemical company Asahi Kasei Corp., won the award in 2019.
Yoshino and Kitagawa studied in the same laboratory lineage at Kyoto University, which traces back to Kenichi Fukui, Japan’s first Nobel laureate in chemistry, who received the award in 1981. APP/KYODO
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