English and Australian chemist (born 1937)
Richard Robson FAA FRS University of Melbourne .[ 1] coordination polymers , particularlymetal-organic frameworks .[ 2] transition metals ".[ 3] [ 4] Nobel Prize in Chemistry jointly withSusumu Kitagawa andOmar M. Yaghi for the development of metal-organic frameworks.[ 5]
Early life and education [ edit ] Robson was born inGlusburn ,West Yorkshire (nowNorth Yorkshire ), England, on 4 June 1937.[ 6] [ 7] Brasenose College, Oxford ,[ 8] [ 9] [ 6] Dyson Perrins Laboratory , focused on thephotochemistry of organic molecules.[ 10] [ 11]
He conducted postdoctoral research at theCalifornia Institute of Technology (1962–64) andStanford University (1964–65) underHenry Taube before accepting a lectureship in chemistry at the University of Melbourne in 1966, where he remained for the rest of his career.[ 9] [ 12]
Richard Robson's groundbreaking research established foundational principles in the field of coordination polymers, particularly for infinite polymeric frameworks—later termedmetal–organic frameworks (MOFs).[ 2] [ 13] [ 14]
In the 1990s, Robson created a new class of coordination polymers that underpinned an entire modern field of chemistry.[ 15] [ 15] [ 15]
Robson received the Burrows Award from the Inorganic Division of TheRoyal Australian Chemical Institute in 1998 and was elected a Fellow of theAustralian Academy of Science in 2000.[ 16] Fellow of the Royal Society in 2022.[ 17]
Robson shared the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his early contribution to the field ofmetal–organic frameworks (MOFs).
Selected publications [ edit ] Hoskins, Bernard F.; Robson, Richard (1989)."Infinite polymeric frameworks consisting of three dimensionally linked rod-like segments" Journal of the American Chemical Society .111 (15):5962– 5964.Bibcode :1989JAChS.111.5962H .doi :10.1021/ja00197a079 .ISSN 0002-7863 . Retrieved8 October 2025 . Hoskins, B. F.; Robson, Richard (1990)."Design and construction of a new class of scaffolding-like materials comprising infinite polymeric frameworks of 3D-linked molecular rods. A reappraisal of the zinc cyanide and cadmium cyanide structures and the synthesis and structure of the diamond-related frameworks [N(CH3)4][CuIZnII(CN)4] and CuI[4,4',4,4' -tetracyanotetraphenylmethane]BF4.xC6H5NO2" Journal of the American Chemical Society .112 (4):1546– 1554.Bibcode :1990JAChS.112.1546H .doi :10.1021/ja00160a038 .ISSN 0002-7863 . Retrieved8 October 2025 . Batten, Stuart R.; Robson, Richard (19 June 1998)."Interpenetrating Nets: Ordered, Periodic Entanglement" Angewandte Chemie International Edition .37 (11):1460– 1494.doi :10.1002/(SICI)1521-3773(19980619)37:11<1460::AID-ANIE1460>3.0.CO;2-Z . Retrieved8 October 2025 . ^ "Robson, Richard – Biographical entry – Encyclopedia of Australian Science" .^a b Hoskins, Bernard F.; Robson, Richard (1989). "Infinite polymeric frameworks consisting of three dimensionally linked rod-like segments".Journal of the American Chemical Society .111 (15):5962– 5964.Bibcode :1989JAChS.111.5962H .doi :10.1021/ja00197a079 . ^ Wise, Donald (27 March 1998).Electrical and Optical Polymer Systems: Fundamentals: Methods, and Applications ISBN 978-0-8247-0118-5 ^ Stuart R. Batten; Suzanne M. Neville; David R. Turner (2009).Coordination Polymers: Design, Analysis and Application ISBN 978-0-85404-837-3 ^ "Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 Summary" .The Nobel Prize . Retrieved8 October 2025 .^a b "Press release" .The Nobel Prize . Retrieved8 October 2025 .^ "Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025" .The Nobel Prize . Retrieved8 October 2025 .^ "Professor Richard Robson – Nobel Prize Winner" .bnc.ox.ac.uk . 8 October 2025.^a b "Richard Robson FRS" .Royal Society . Retrieved8 October 2025 .^ Williams, R. J. P.; Rowlinson, John S.; Chapman, Allan (2008).Chemistry at Oxford: A History from 1600 To 2005 . Royal Society of Chemistry. p. 242.ISBN 978-1-84755-885-5 ^ Barltrop, J.A.; Robson, R. (1963)."The photochemistry of some charge-transfer complexes of cyclohexene" Tetrahedron Letters .4 (9):597– 600.doi :10.1016/S0040-4039(01)90680-X . Retrieved8 October 2025 . ^ Abrahams, Brendan F.; Batten, Stuart R.; D'Alessandro, Deanna M. (2019)."Professor Richard Robson FAA" .Australian Journal of Chemistry .72 (10): 729.doi :10.1071/CHv72n10_FO .ISSN 0004-9425 . Archived fromthe original on 8 October 2025. ^ Bruin, Tyler (24 November 2023)."Professor Richard Robson elected Fellow of the Royal Society" . University of Melbourne. Retrieved25 November 2024 . ^ Robson, Richard (2024)."The Historical Development of the Concepts Underlying the Design and Construction of Targeted Coordination Polymers/MOFs: A Personal Account" .The Chemical Letter .24 (5) 202400038.doi :10.1002/tcr.202400038 PMID 38775251 . ^a b c "The man who built a whole new field of chemistry" .Pursuit . University of Melbourne. Retrieved25 November 2024 .^ Sharma, Deepanshu (8 October 2025)."Who is Richard Robson? Australian Chemist Who Won The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025" .The Daily Guardian . Retrieved8 October 2025 . ^ "Outstanding Academy Fellows elected to Royal Society" .Australian Academy of Science . Retrieved10 May 2022 .
1901–1925 1926–1950 1951–1975 1976–2000 2001–present
International Academics People
