Three scientists won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry Wednesday for developing a method of designing molecular structures whose multiple uses include tackling climate change by capturing carbon dioxide and harvesting water from desert air.

Japan's Susumu Kitagawa, UK-born Richard Robson and American-Jordanian Omar Yaghi were honoured for their groundbreaking discoveries dating from the late 1980s to the early 2000s.

Thanks to the trio's discoveries, said the jury, chemists had been able to build tens of thousands of so called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).

"Some of these may contribute to solving some of humankind's greatest challenges," it added.

It listed applications such as "separating PFAS from water, breaking down traces of pharmaceuticals in the environment, capturing carbon dioxide or harvesting water from desert air".

In 1989, Robson, 88, tested using the properties of atoms in a new way using copper ions.

"When they were combined, they bonded to form a well-ordered, spacious crystal," the jury said.........

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