Ethoxylation

In organic chemistry, ethoxylation is a chemical reaction in which ethylene oxide (C₂H₄O) adds to a substrate. It is the most widely practiced alkoxylation, which involves the addition of epoxides to substrates.

In the usual application, alcohols and phenols are converted into R(OC₂H₄)_nOH, where n ranges from 1 to 10. Such compounds are called alcohol ethoxylates. Alcohol ethoxylates are often converted to related species called ethoxysulfates. Alcohol ethoxylates and ethoxysulfates are surfactants, used widely in cosmetic and other commercial products. The process is of great industrial significance, with more than 2,000,000 metric tons of various ethoxylates produced worldwide in 1994.