The article describes synthesis of four hydroxyethyl alkylene–double alkyl bromide through substitution of nucleophilic d iethanolamine, 1-bromododecane, and 1,4-dibromobutane. The structure of the new hydroxyl cationic surfactant (HDCS) was characterized by 1H NMR and FTIR spectra. The aqueous solution of HDCS showed critical micelle concentration, i.e., 5.6 × 10−2 mM, and could reduce oil/water interfacial tension to 3.28 × 10−3 mN m−1. The surface tension measurements provided a series of parameters, including critical micelle concentration (CMC), surface tension at the CMC (γCMC), adsorption efficiency (pC20), and effectiveness of surface tension reduction (ΠCMC). In addition, maximum surface excess concentration (Гmax) and minimum surface area/molecule (Amin) at the air/water interface were obtained by the Gibbs adsorption isotherm. The influence of inorganic salts (sodium chloride, calcium chloride) and organic salts (sodium benzoate) on the surface tension of HDCS in aqueous solution was investigated. For wettability alteration measurement, contact angle measurement as a quantitative method was utilized. Meanwhile, foam ability, foam stability, and emulsifying property of the synthesized surfactant were also examined at different concentration. HDCS also had excellent viscosity property.

Vinyl glycoside (GnR) was prepared and reacted with acrylamide (AM) to synthesize a novel AM copolymer (AM/GnR) through redox free-radical polymerization in aqueous solution. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, 1H NMR spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy were applied to characterize the polymer. Several performance evaluations such as intrinsic viscosity, temperature resistance, salt tolerance, and shear resistance were also conducted. Experiment results demonstrated that the introduced GnR could endow the copolymer with excellent salt tolerance capability and shear resistance ability. The superior salt tolerance performance of AM/GnR provided some clues to the synthesis of salt resistant polymer.