Synthesis of a new sulfobetaine surfactant with double long alkyl chains and its performances in surfactant-polymer flooding

A new zwitterionic surfactant with double long alkyl chains, 3-((3-((1,3-bis (decyloxyl) propane-2-yl) oxy) -2-hydroxypropyl) dimethylamonio) -2-hydroxypropane-1-sulfonate (diC₁₀GE-HSB), was synthesized, and its performances in Surfactant-Polymer (SP) flooding were studied. As a hydrophobic surfactant diC₁₀GE-HSB solely cannot reduce Daqing crude oil/connate water IFT to ultralow, but ultralow IFT can be achieved by using binary mixtures of diC₁₀GE-HSB with various conventional hydrophilic surfactants such as α–olefin sulfonates, dodecyl polyoxyethylene (10) ether, and cetyl dimethyl hydroxypropyl sulfobetaine, over a wide total concentration range (0.625?～?10?mM) at reservoir temperature. This new sulfobetaine surfactant is therefore a good candidate for SP flooding free of alkali.     

Quantum transport signatures of non-trivial topological edge states in a ring-shaped Su–Schrieffer–Heeger double-chain system

In the ring-shaped Su–Schrieffer–Heeger(SSH)double-chain,the quantum interference between the two different electron tunneling paths of the upper and lower chains has an important influence on the electron transport properties of non-trivial topological edge states.Here,we have studied the electron transport signatures of non-trivial topological edge states in a ring-shaped SSH double-chain system based on the wave-guide theory and transfer-matrix method.In the ringshaped SSH double-chain with the upper chain being different from the lower one,it is demonstrated that the electron transmission probability displays the four and two resonance peaks associated with the non-trivial topological edge states in the weak and strong coupling regimes,respectively.Whereas in the case of the upper chain being the same as the lower one,the two transmission resonance peaks associated with the non-trivial topological edge states in the weak coupling regime are only found,and that in the strong coupling regime disappear that originated from the destructive interference between the two different electron tunneling paths of the upper and lower chains.Consequently,the variation of the number of transmission resonance peaks associated with the non-trivial topological edge states in the weak and strong coupling regimes suggests that an alternative scheme for detecting non-trivial topological edge states in the ring-shaped SSH doublechain system.     

Synthesis and properties of double-chain single-head acetamidinium bicarbonate switchable surfactants

A series of switchable surfactants with double hydrophobic chains and a single hydrophilic head N,N’-dialkylacetamidinium bicarbonate with an alkyl length between diC8 and diC12 were synthesized by using new approaches. The structures of acetamidinium bicarbonate were characterized by ^1?H NMR and ESI-MS spectroscopy. The surface activity in aqueous solution of N,N’-dialkylacetamidinium bicarbonate and N’-alkyl-N,N-dimethylacetamidinium were compared by surface tension methods. Some surface activity parameters were studied, such as cmc, γ_cmc, pC₂₀, cmc/C₂₀, Γ_max, and A_min. The results indicated that double-chain surfactant was superior to single-chain surfactant and showed more excellent surface activity. The switchability was confirmed by monitoring the conductivity of a solution of amidine in ethanol and their effect in emulsion stability was also investigated.     

Improving performances of double-chain single-head surfactants for SP flooding by combining with conventional anionic surfactants

The binary surfactant mixtures of 1,3-dialkyl (diC₈-diC₁₂) glyceryl ether ethoxylates with didodecylmethylhydroxylpropyl sulfobetaine (diC₁₂HSB) are good formulations for surfactant–polymer flooding of Daqing crude oil, China, but suffer from low aqueous solubility. By combining with α-olefin sulfonates (AOS) at small molar fractions, the aqueous solubility of the formulations can be significantly improved due to the formation of charged mixed micelles. The ternary formulations can reduce Daqing crude oil/connate water interfacial tension to ultralow at a wide range of total surfactant concentration (0.625?～?10?mM), have good resistance to adsorption by sandstone, and can keep sandstone surface water-wet.     

Thermodynamics around magnetic phase transitions in alternating double-chain spin systems

The thermodynamics and quantum phase transitions of two typically alternating double-chain systems are investigated by Green＇s function theory.（i） For the completely antiferromagnetic（AFM） alternating double-chain, the low-temperature antiferromagnetism with gapped behavior is observed, which is in accordance with the experimental result. In a magnetic field, we unveil the ground state phase diagram with zero plateau, 1/2 plateau, and polarized ferromagnetic（FM） phases,as a result of the intra-cluster spin-singlet competition. Furthermore, the Gr ¨uneisen ratio is an excellent tool to identify the quantum criticality and testify various quantum phases.（ii） For the antiferromagnetically coupled FM alternating chains,the 1/2 magnetization plateau and double-peak structure of specific heat appear, which are also observed experimentally.Nevertheless, the M–h curve shows an anomalous behavior in an ultra-low field, which is ascribed to the effectively weak Haldane-like state, demonstrated by the two-site entanglement entropy explicitly.