Achim Müller, Professor Emeritus, University of Bielefeld, Germany, passed away on February 28, 2024.

He has made groundbreaking contributions in many areas of inorganic chemistry, from transition metal chemistry and bioanorganic chemistry to the synthesis of large polyoxometalates. Achim Müller is well known for his contributions to nanochemistry. Here his research focuses on the synthesis, characterization, and interactions of structurally well-defined porous spherical metal oxide-based nanocapsules and their applications. Müller is particularly known for his work on molybdenum clusters, such as the wheel-shaped Mo₁₅₄ cluster, also known as the Bielefeld Ferris wheel.

Achim Müller, born in Detmold, Germany, in 1938, studied chemistry and theoretical physics at the University of Göttingen, Germany, where he received his Ph.D. in experimental thermochemistry in 1965 under the supervision of Oskar Glemser. He habilitated in 1967 and joined the University of Dortmund, Germany, as an associate professor in 1971. In 1977, Müller was appointed full professor of inorganic chemistry at the University of Bielefeld. He remained there until his emeritus status in 2003.

Among many other honors, Achim Müller received a 1.2 million Euro ERC Advanced Grant from the European Union in 2012, the Elhuyar-Goldschmidt Prize from the Real Sociedad Española de Química (RSEQ) in 2005, the Alfred Stock Memorial Medal from the German Chemical Society (GDCh) in 2000, and the Wilhelm Manchot Research Professorship from the Technical University of Munich in 2006.

Selected Publications

• Achim Müller, Pierre Gouzerh, Capsules with Highly Active Pores and Interiors: Versatile Platforms at the Nanoscale, Chem. Eur. J. 2014. https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201305010
• Leroy Cronin, Achim Müller, From serendipity to design of polyoxometalates at the nanoscale, aesthetic beauty and applications, Chem. Soc. Rev. 2012, 41, 7333. https://doi.org/10.1039/c2cs90087d
• Achim Müller, Pierre Gouzerh, From linking of metal-oxide building blocks in a dynamic library to giant clusters with unique properties and towards adaptive chemistry, Chem. Soc. Rev. 2012, 41, 7431. https://doi.org/10.1039/c2cs35169b
•  A. Müller, A. Merca, A. J. M. Al-Karawi, S. Garai, H. Bögge, G. Hou, L. Wu, E. T. K. Haupt, D. Rehder, F. Haso, T. Liu, Chemical Adaptability: The Integration of Different Kinds of Matter by Giant Molecular Metal Oxides, Chem. Eur. J. 2012. https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201203186
• Paul Kögerler, Boris Tsukerblat, Achim Müller, Structure-related frustrated magnetism of nanosized polyoxometalates: aesthetics and properties in harmony, Dalton Trans. 2010, 39, 21–36. https://doi.org/10.1039/b910716a
• Ulrich Kortz, Achim Müller, Joris van Slageren, Jürgen Schnack, Naresh S. Dalal, Martin Dressel, Polyoxometalates: Fascinating structures, unique magnetic properties, Coord. Chem. Rev. 2009, 253, 2315–2327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccr.2009.01.014
• Nanomaterials Chemistry: Recent Developments and New Directions, C. N. R. Rao, Achim Müller, Anthony K. Cheetham (Eds.), Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2007.
  ISBN: 978-3-527-31664-9
• Achim Müller, Erich Krickemeyer, Jochen Meyer, Hartmut Bögge, Frank Peters, Winfried Plass, Ekkehard Diemann, Stephan Dillinger, Fritz Nonnenbruch, Markus Randerath, Carsten Menke, [Mo₁₅₄(NO)₁₄O₄₂₀(OH)₂₈(H₂O)₇₀]^{(25 ± 5)−}: A Water-Soluble Big Wheel with More than 700 Atoms and a Relative Molecular Mass of About 24000, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 1995. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.199521221
• Achim Müller, Hans Reuter, Stephan Dillinger, Supramolecular Inorganic Chemistry: Small Guests in Small and Large Hosts, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 1995. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.199523281
• Michael T. Pope, Achim Müller, Polyoxometalate Chemistry: An Old Field with New Dimensions in Several Disciplines, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 1991, 30, 34–48. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.199100341
• Achim Müller, Induced molecule self-organization, Nature 1991. https://doi.org/10.1038/352115b0