The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is one of the five original Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel. First awarded in 1901, it recognizes important discoveries or improvements in chemistry. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences selects the recipients, while the Nobel Foundation administers the financial framework. Its history encompasses research into chemical reactions, molecular structures, materials, and the chemical processes of living organisms. (nobelprize.org)
Origins and institutional framework
Nobel signed his final will in Paris on 27 November 1895. He directed that most of his fortune should fund prizes rewarding contributions that benefited humanity, with one share assigned to chemical discoveries or improvements. The will entrusted selection of the chemistry and physics recipients to the Swedish Academy of Sciences. The Foundation was established in 1900 to implement the bequest and manage its assets. Its administrative role is distinct from the Academy’s responsibility for scientific judgments. (nobelprize.org)
The first chemistry laureate was Jacobus Henricus van ’t Hoff. His 1901 award recognized work on chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure in solutions, fundamental contributions to physical chemistry. The research had appeared in the 1880s, illustrating that the award can recognize discoveries substantially older than the award year. Foundation statutes require that a contribution’s importance be established through experience or expert scrutiny. (nobelprize.org)
Nomination and selection
Candidates must be nominated by qualified individuals through the Academy’s invitation-based procedure; self-nomination is prohibited. Eligible nominators include Academy members, previous chemistry and physics laureates, specified university professors, and other invited scientists. Invitations normally go out in September or October, and nominations must arrive by 31 January of the following year. (nobelprize.org)
The chemistry Nobel Committee screens nominations and obtains assessments from specialist advisers. It prepares recommendations for the Academy, whose chemistry section discusses the report before the final decision. The Academy normally chooses laureates by majority vote in early October. Its decision cannot be appealed. Nominees’ and nominators’ identities, investigations, and deliberative opinions remain confidential for 50 years; nomination is therefore distinct from receiving an award. (nobelprize.org)
Award rules and presentation
A chemistry prize may go to one person or be shared by two or three, but never by more than three individuals. A shared award need not be divided equally: the statutes permit division between two recognized works, including work undertaken jointly. The prize may be withheld if no contribution meets the stipulated standard. Rules introduced in 1974 prohibit posthumous awards, although an award remains valid when a recipient dies after its announcement. (nobelprize.org)
The presentation takes place in Stockholm on 10 December, the anniversary of Nobel’s death. Recipients receive a Nobel Prize medal, a diploma, and a monetary award. The amount varies over time; the full prize was 11 million Swedish kronor in 2025. The chemistry medal was designed by Erik Lindberg and depicts Nature, represented as a goddess, with the Genius of Science lifting her veil. Each diploma is individually designed. (nobelprize.org)
Scientific scope and historical development
The award’s scope extends across the discipline rather than following a fixed rotation of specialties. Its historical record includes organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, analytical chemistry, and biochemistry. Recognition has covered discoveries about matter as well as methods for making substances, measuring their properties, and determining their structures. The boundaries overlap with physics and the life sciences; the chemistry committee has held joint meetings with committees in neighboring prize fields to address such questions. (nobelprize.org)
In 1911, Marie Curie received the chemistry prize for discovering radium and polonium, isolating radium, and investigating its nature and compounds. Her work connected the study of radioactivity with the identification and characterization of chemical elements. In 1954, Linus Pauling was recognized for research into the chemical bond and its application to explaining complex structures. Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin’s 1964 award recognized structural determinations using X-ray crystallography. (nobelprize.org)
Recent awards illustrate the range of recognized research. The 2020 prize honored Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna for developing a method of genome editing. The 2022 prize recognized Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal, and K. Barry Sharpless for click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry. These awards show that techniques for investigating and manipulating biological systems can qualify as chemical achievements. (nobelprize.org)
In 2024, half the prize went to David Baker for computational protein design, while the other half was shared by Demis Hassabis and John Jumper for protein structure prediction. Their work included AlphaFold2, an artificial intelligence model presented in 2020. The award distinguished designing new proteins from predicting the three-dimensional structures of existing ones. (nobelprize.org)
The 2025 prize went to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi for developing metal–organic frameworks. These molecular constructions contain large internal spaces through which gases and other chemicals can move. The Academy highlighted their potential for selectively capturing substances and creating materials with tailored functions. (nobelprize.org)
Historical record
Between 1901 and 2025, the chemistry prize was awarded 117 times, producing 200 laureate entries representing 198 individuals. Frederick Sanger and Barry Sharpless each received it twice. Eight award years had no chemistry recipient: 1916, 1917, 1919, 1924, 1933, 1940, 1941, and 1942. (nobelprize.org)
Through 2025, the youngest chemistry laureate was Frédéric Joliot, aged 35 when he shared the 1935 award with Irène Joliot-Curie. The oldest was John B. Goodenough, aged 97 when he received the 2019 prize. The official nomination archive provides historical evidence about proposed candidates, but its 50-year confidentiality rule prevents equivalent examination of recent selections. (nobelprize.org)