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.
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.
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.
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#
"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.