[2] Müller moved to United Kingdom in 1855 to work with Warren De la Rue as recommended by Liebig.
[3] Around the same time, Hermann Kolbe had independently discovered a similar reaction, transforming acetic acid into malonic acid—a process Müller had also investigated.
[3] The priority of the discovery was also disputed by Hans Hübner who had partially published his work on the same reaction and by Friedrich Konrad Beilstein who accused Müller, Kolbe and others of unethical practices.
However, the same year Müller also published the synthesis of trichloroacetic acid with potassium cyanide without notifying Kolbe.
[4] Müller became a consultant for De La Rue company before leaving academic research to pursue an industrial career.
[2] His work on horticulture led him to develop a vast garden in his home at Camberley, Surrey, England.
[2] Since his school days Müller had collected mineral specimens, which his widow Elisabeth presented to the Oxford University Museum Of Natural History in 1915.