Wolf Johannes Müller studied chemistry, physics and mathematics at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau. After graduating, he worked for the two Nobel Prize winners Jacobus Henricus van’t Hoff and Wilhelm Ostwald in Berlin.
From 1911, Müller was head of the inorganic science and analytical laboratory and the materials testing department of Farbenfabriken Bayer & Co. In 1926 he was appointed professor at the TH Vienna.
Inspired by the work of the chemist Johann Wilhelm Hittorf, Müller dealt both experimentally and theoretically with the phenomena of passivity and corrosion in metals. He developed a process for extracting sulfuric acid and cement from gypsum and clay, which became very important in industrial applications. His inventions formed the foundation that made possible the introduction of large-scale industrial production of cadmium-based paints. Meritorious was his research work around the technology of fuels.