{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T20:15:16Z","timestamp":1792008916959,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,15]],"date-time":"2022-01-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1642204800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Gels"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The production of resorcinol\u2013formaldehyde xerogels has yielded insight into the gelation processes underpinning their structures. In this work, the role of the cation species from the catalyst is probed by studying the simultaneous addition of sodium carbonate and calcium carbonate to a resorcinol\u2013formaldehyde mixture. Twenty-eight xerogels were prepared by varying the solids content, catalyst concentration, and catalyst composition, and each was analysed for its textural properties, including the surface area and average pore diameter. The results indicate that the role of the cation is linked to the stabilisation of the clusters formed within the system, and that the Group II catalyst causes the salting out of the oligomers, resulting in fewer, larger clusters, hence, an increase in pore size and a broadening of the pore size distribution. The results provide insight into how these systems can be further controlled to create tailored porous materials for a range of applications.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/gels8010060","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,16]],"date-time":"2022-01-16T20:44:00Z","timestamp":1642365840000},"page":"60","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["The Role of Cations in Resorcinol\u2013Formaldehyde Gel Textural Characteristics"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"8","author":[{"given":"Stewart J.","family":"Taylor","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1XJ, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Liu","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1XJ, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3915-8887","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ashleigh J.","family":"Fletcher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1XJ, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3221","DOI":"10.1007\/BF01139044","article-title":"Organic aerogels from the polycondensation of resorcinol with formaldehyde","volume":"24","author":"Pekala","year":"1989","journal-title":"J. Mater. Sci."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.1002\/adma.200390020","article-title":"Preparation and properties of resorcinol\u2013formaldehyde organic and carbon gels","volume":"15","author":"Ritter","year":"2003","journal-title":"Adv. Mater."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"124","DOI":"10.1016\/j.micromeso.2005.07.021","article-title":"Influence of drying on the morphology of resorcinol\u2013formaldehyde-based carbon gels","volume":"86","author":"Czakkel","year":"2005","journal-title":"Microporous Mesoporous Mater."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2481","DOI":"10.1016\/j.carbon.2005.04.031","article-title":"Carbon aerogels, cryogels and xerogels: Influence of the drying method on the textural properties of porous carbon materials","volume":"43","author":"Job","year":"2005","journal-title":"Carbon"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.apcatb.2011.12.008","article-title":"Glycerol oxidation with gold supported on carbon xerogels: Tuning selectivities by varying mesopore sizes","volume":"115","author":"Rodrigues","year":"2012","journal-title":"Appl. Catal. B Environ."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2722","DOI":"10.1016\/j.carbon.2010.03.068","article-title":"Ni-doped carbon xerogels for H2 storage","volume":"48","author":"Zubizarreta","year":"2010","journal-title":"Carbon"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"653","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbiosc.2013.05.035","article-title":"Characteristics of biochar and its application in remediation of contaminated soil","volume":"116","author":"Tang","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Biosci. Bioeng."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6323","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpowsour.2010.04.050","article-title":"Stable support based on highly graphitic carbon xerogel for proton exchange membrane fuel cells","volume":"195","author":"Jin","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Power Sources"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111059","DOI":"10.1016\/j.micromeso.2021.111059","article-title":"Preparation of carbon foam-reinforced carbon aerogels and their copyrolysis mechanism","volume":"319","author":"Su","year":"2021","journal-title":"Microporous Mesoporous Mater."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2887","DOI":"10.1002\/adma.201100283","article-title":"Advances in Tailoring Resorcinol-Formaldehyde Organic and Carbon Gels","volume":"23","year":"2011","journal-title":"Adv. Mater."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"490","DOI":"10.1016\/j.carbon.2014.07.030","article-title":"Simultaneous adjustment of the main chemical variables to fine-tune the porosity of carbon xerogels","volume":"78","author":"Arenillas","year":"2014","journal-title":"Carbon"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"266","DOI":"10.1016\/j.micromeso.2014.04.048","article-title":"RF xerogels with tailored porosity over the entire nanoscale","volume":"195","author":"Arenillas","year":"2014","journal-title":"Microporous Mesoporous Mater."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4698","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jnoncrysol.2008.06.102","article-title":"Effect of the counter-ion of the basification agent on the pore texture of organic and carbon xerogels","volume":"354","author":"Job","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Non-Cryst. Solids"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"791","DOI":"10.1016\/S0008-6223(97)00024-9","article-title":"Porous structure of organic and carbon aerogels synthesized by sol-gel polycondensation of resorcinol with formaldehyde","volume":"35","author":"Tamon","year":"1997","journal-title":"Carbon"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"62","DOI":"10.1016\/j.polymer.2016.12.069","article-title":"Kinetics of early stages of resorcinol-formaldehyde polymerization investigated by solution-phase nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy","volume":"110","author":"Gaca","year":"2017","journal-title":"Polymer"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"22","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jnoncrysol.2016.12.015","article-title":"Mitigation of anomalous expansion of carbon xerogels and controllability of mean-pore-size by changes in mold geometry","volume":"458","author":"Lozano","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Non-Cryst. Solids"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10231","DOI":"10.1021\/la502394u","article-title":"Gelation Mechanism of Resorcinol-Formaldehyde Gels Investigated by Dynamic Light Scattering","volume":"30","author":"Taylor","year":"2014","journal-title":"Langmuir"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"13571","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.langmuir.5b02483","article-title":"Effects of Secondary Metal Carbonate Addition on the Porous Character of Resorcinol\u2013Formaldehyde Xerogels","volume":"31","author":"Taylor","year":"2015","journal-title":"Langmuir"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7052","DOI":"10.1039\/C7SC02691A","article-title":"What is the fundamental ion-specific series for anions and cations? Ion specificity in standard partial molar volumes of electrolytes and electrostriction in water and non-aqueous solvents","volume":"8","author":"Mazzini","year":"2017","journal-title":"Chem. Sci."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cocis.2016.04.003","article-title":"Reversed Hofmeister series\u2014The rule rather than the exception","volume":"23","author":"Schwierz","year":"2016","journal-title":"Curr. Opin. Colloid Interface Sci."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1051","DOI":"10.1515\/pac-2014-1117","article-title":"Physisorption of gases, with special reference to the evaluation of surface area and pore size distribution (IUPAC Technical Report)","volume":"87","author":"Thommes","year":"2015","journal-title":"Pure Appl. Chem."},{"key":"ref_22","first-page":"1217","article-title":"IUPAC recommendations. Reporting physisorption data for gas\/solid systems","volume":"2","author":"Sing","year":"2008","journal-title":"Handb. Heterog. Catal. (2nd Ed.)"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fluid.2012.03.020","article-title":"Effects in the solubility of CaCO3: Experimental study and model description","volume":"324","author":"Coto","year":"2012","journal-title":"Fluid Phase Equilibria"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2225","DOI":"10.1016\/0016-7037(86)90077-3","article-title":"The solubility of BaCO3 (cr)(witherite) in CO2-H2O solutions between 0 and 90\u00b0 C, evaluation of the association constants of BaHCO3+ (aq) and BaCO30 (aq) between 5 and 80 \u00b0C, and a preliminary evaluation of the thermodynamic properties of Ba2+ (aq)","volume":"50","author":"Busenberg","year":"1986","journal-title":"Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"193","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijggc.2012.11.011","article-title":"Manufacture of calcium-based sorbents for high temperature cyclic CO2 capture via a sol\u2013gel process","volume":"12","author":"Luo","year":"2013","journal-title":"Int. J. Greenh. Gas Control"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111089","DOI":"10.1016\/j.micromeso.2021.111089","article-title":"Effect of pore size and heterogeneous surface on the adsorption of CO2, N2, O2, and Ar on carbon aerogel, RF aerogel, and activated carbons","volume":"322","author":"Wilson","year":"2021","journal-title":"Microporous Mesoporous Mater."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1194","DOI":"10.1021\/am201683j","article-title":"Water desalination using capacitive deionization with microporous carbon electrodes","volume":"4","author":"Porada","year":"2012","journal-title":"ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"74","DOI":"10.1016\/S0022-3093(98)00011-8","article-title":"Carbon aerogels for electrochemical applications","volume":"225","author":"Pekala","year":"1998","journal-title":"J. Non-Cryst. Solids"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"671","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijhydene.2010.10.054","article-title":"Acetic acid catalysed carbon xerogels derived from resorcinol-furfural for hydrogen storage","volume":"36","author":"Tian","year":"2011","journal-title":"Int. J. Hydrogen Energy"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"131521","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cej.2021.131521","article-title":"Ultrahigh rate and high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries with resorcinol-formaldehyde xerogel derived highly porous carbon matrix as sulfur cathode host","volume":"425","author":"Gaikwad","year":"2021","journal-title":"Chem. Eng. J."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"309","DOI":"10.1021\/ja01269a023","article-title":"Adsorption of Gases in Multimolecular Layers","volume":"60","author":"Brunauer","year":"1938","journal-title":"J. Am. Chem. Soc."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"373","DOI":"10.1021\/ja01145a126","article-title":"The Determination of Pore Volume and Area Distributions in Porous Substances. I. Computations from Nitrogen Isotherms","volume":"73","author":"Barrett","year":"1951","journal-title":"J. Am. Chem. Soc."}],"container-title":["Gels"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2310-2861\/8\/1\/60\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,13]],"date-time":"2025-10-13T13:39:51Z","timestamp":1760362791000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2310-2861\/8\/1\/60"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,15]]},"references-count":32,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,1]]}},"alternative-id":["gels8010060"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/gels8010060","relation":{},"ISSN":["2310-2861"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2310-2861","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,15]]}}}