Irving Langmuir

Irving Langmuir (1881–1957) was an American physical chemist whose studies of surfaces, gases, and electrical discharges earned him the 1932 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Langmuir adsorption isotherm: A model describing adsorption onto a surface with a finite number of equivalent sites and no interactions between adsorbed molecules. It formalized his account of gas molecules binding to solid surfaces.
Adsorption: The accumulation of atoms, ions, or molecules on the surface of a material. Langmuir’s surface studies treated adsorption as a process occurring at discrete sites.
Katharine Burr Blodgett: An American physicist and chemist who developed techniques for depositing controlled molecular films on surfaces. She worked with Langmuir at General Electric and extended methods for building molecular films.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: A private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, founded in 1861. Langmuir earned his chemical engineering degree there before pursuing research in Germany.
Surface chemistry: The study of chemical processes and structures at interfaces between phases. Langmuir’s Nobel-recognized research helped establish this field.
Chemisorption: Adsorption in which particles bind to a surface through chemical bonds. Langmuir distinguished strong chemical binding at surfaces from weaker physical adsorption.
Gilbert N. Lewis: An American physical chemist known for the electron-pair theory of chemical bonding and the Lewis acid–base concept. Lewis directed Langmuir’s doctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
University of Göttingen: A public research university in Göttingen, Germany, founded in 1737. Langmuir completed his doctorate in chemistry there under Walther Nernst.
Tungsten filament: A thin tungsten wire heated electrically to produce light in an incandescent lamp. Langmuir’s gas-filled lamp design improved the performance of tungsten filaments.
Monolayer: A single layer of atoms or molecules arranged on a surface or at an interface. The Langmuir model describes adsorption up to a complete single layer.

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