He was known for the discovery of plastic crystals[2][3] and the published books on physical chemistry constants and experimental data of pure solutions.
[5] Timmermans was born in Brussels and obtained his BA in chemistry from the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in 1900.
During World War I from 1914 till 1918, he worked in the Laboratory of the Belgian army located at Sorbonne University in Paris.
After the war, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry commissioned Timmermans to establish a Bureau of standards at the ULB.
He was an executive committee member and represents Belgium in the Association of University Professors and Lecturers of the Allied Countries in Great Britain.