Chemistry Nobel laureate wants humanity to focus on mining ‘invisible gold’ all around us
Nobel laureate Susumu Kitagawa advocates for a shift from a 'digging civilization' to a 'separating civilization' by utilizing metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). These porous materials can capture gases from the air, potentially revolutionizing how we source raw materials and fuels.
Why it matters
This research offers a sustainable technological pathway to reduce environmental impact by extracting resources directly from the atmosphere.
Source: © STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images
Susumu Kitagawa told delegates at the EuChemS Chemistry Congress in Antwerp that metal–organic frameworks and other porous materials offer a unique opportunity for humanity to change how it extracts raw materials for chemical feedstocks and fuels
Humanity needs new materials to help it move away from a ‘digging civilisation’ to a ‘separating civilisation’. That’s the big idea of Susumu Kitagawa at Kyoto University, one of last year’s winners of the Nobel prize in chemistry for his work on metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), who says that we need to focus on ‘mining’ the ‘invisible gold’ all around us – air.
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