If I remember right from a video back when mentos and Coke was all the rage, it wasn’t just the texture of the mentos but there was also a chemical reaction in the combination of the two is what led to the violent reaction.
"The eruption is caused by a physical reaction, rather than any chemical reaction. " https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soda_geyser
" These additives are thought to enhance fountaining by lowering the surface tension of the beverage"
It’s a still a physical effect, not a chemical reaction. The additives allow the physical effect to happen more rapidly because the water has lower surface tension.
Would you be able to find the video? I had never heard of this, and can’t imagine what “chemical reaction” could occur beyond the carbon dioxide simply coming out of solution.
I can try, but that was probably 15ish years ago. So much has come and gone on the net since then.
I think it was mythbusters? It was something in diet drinks increases the effect over a regular soft drink.
For now, this is the best I think I can offer https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jchemed.6b00862#
Probably the sugar. Sugar decarbonates coke (and other sodas) pretty quickly. Add to that a container under pressure with only a small hole and you get an explosive reaction.