From Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia
Marcel Pourbaix was born
in
1904, in Myshega (Russia).
A brilliant chemist, he performed
his most well known research at
the
University of Brussels,
studying
corrosion. His biggest
achievement is the derivation of
potential-PH diagrams, better
known as “Pourbaix
Diagrams”. Pourbaix Diagrams
are
thermodynamic charts
constructed using the
Nernst equation and visualize
the relationship between possible
phases of a system, bounded by
lines representing the
reactions that transport
between them. They can be read
much like a
phase diagram.
In
1963, Pourbaix produced "Atlas
of Electrochemical Equilibria",
which contains potential-pH
diagrams for all
elements known at the time.
Pourbaix and his collaborators
began preparing the work in the
early 1950's.
Marcel Pourbaix was not only a
scientist, but also a skilled
pianist. He died
September 28,
1998 at the age of 94 in Uccle
(Brussels) at his family home.
