The Institute of Physical Chemistry was founded by Academician Ilie Murgulescu in 1963, as a result of splitting of the former Chemical Research Center of the Romanian Academy.

Outstanding personality of the Romanian chemistry, Professor Murgulescu is also the founder of the modern school of physical chemistry at the University of Bucharest. He devised the main research directions in physical chemistry and set up the structural framework of the Institute of Physical Chemistry, developed under his direction (1963 - 1977) and preserved with minor revisions for over 40 years.

For mostly political reasons, especially after the Professor's retirement, the institute was forced into a sinuous administrative trajectory, eventually resulting in the loss of its dedicated building and legal personality. In spite of these shortcomings, its research staff was able to develop professionally and get ready for the major changes of the year 1990. Professor Ilie Murgulescu survived those troubled times and had a decisive contribution to the return of the Institute of Physical Chemistry back to the Romanian Academy. After his passing away in 1991, Academician Ilie Murgulescu made the last and unanimously expected gift to the Institute of Physical Chemistry: his name.