In this study, HMSNs with a specific surface area of 900 m2 g−1 and a wall thickness of 50 nm were prepared by a soft template method.

Amino acid (AA) was used as a green grafting agent to functionalize polyepoxysuccinic acid (PESA), and three AA-modified PESA (AA-PESA) CaCO3 scale inhibitors were obtained to change the structural singleness of PESA and further improve its comprehensive properties. The structures of AA-PESA were characterized by FTIR and 1HNMR. The molecular weights of AA-PESA were analyzed by GPC. The synthesis technology of AA-PESA was optimized by single-factor and orthogonal experiments. The CaCO3 scale inhibition performance of AA-PESA was studied by static-scale inhibition method, and the scale inhibition mechanism was analyzed. Results showed that AA-PESAs had the same synthesis process: n(PESA):n(AA) = 1:0.625, reaction temperature of 95 °C, and reaction time of 2 h. In the water system with pH 7.0-8.5, agent concentration of 8-10 mg/L, action period of 10-14 h, ambient temperature <80 °C, and ρ(Ca2+) < 250 mg/L, the inhibition rate of three AA-PESAs on CaCO3 could reach 100%, and GIN preferred for the graft modification of PESA. FTIR, XRD, and SEM results showed that the addition of AA-PESA could control the nucleation sites of CaCO3 crystal, had important influence on the growth of calcite (104) crystal planes, and had a good inhibitory effect on the CaCO3 scale.