The variety of metal-organic frameworks scientists can concoct are seemingly endless; so are their applications. Such structures can collect water from air, conjuring potable liquid in the desert. They can capture greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide expelled from industrial plants. They can extract forever chemicals known as PFAS from water and recover rare earth elements from waste, Ramström said. “The list goes on and on and on.”

This year’s award “highlights chemistry’s greatest strength: the ability to design and build molecular structures that address global challenges,” American Chemical Society president Dorothy Phillips said in a statement.