Ethylene oxide is an important raw material used in many industrial processes. It is colorless, volatile gas with a characteristic sweet odor and high reactivity. It is the main raw material for the production of many chemicals, especially ethylene glycol. Traditional ethylene oxide production involves the direct oxidation of ethylene with oxygen in the presence of a suitable catalyst. Silver catalyst has proven to be the most suitable for this purpose. To achieve the desired conversion and selectivity, the reaction must take place at elevated temperature and pressure. To optimize conventional production, the development of ethylene epoxidation with oxygen using induction catalysis began. This method uses a catalyst that heats up when exposed to an alternating electromagnetic field. This technique enables extremely fast, homogeneous and controlled heating of the catalyst, improving reaction conditions and leading to better results. For successful induction catalysis, a catalyst that responds to an external magnetic field is required. However, effective operation also depends on catalytic particles, which include high-entropy alloys. These alloys contain several base elements in approximately equal molar rations. This composition enhances certain properties of the material, making them suitable for induction catalysis. To determine whether catalysts with high-entropy alloys are suitable for the epoxidation of ethylene with oxygen using induction catalysis, I synthesized various catalysts with and without high-entropy alloys. I tested the synthesized catalysts in an induction reactor under various conditions. The reaction products obtained show that catalysts with high-entropy alloys achieved comparable results to reference catalysts without high-entropy alloys. I confirmed the reaction results using characterization techniques, such as vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM).
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