Table 1. Gel characteristics.

Gel	Gel section	Pore volume, cc/g	Surface area, m2/g	α-Fe2O3 concentration, g/g (dried gel)
α-Fe2O3-AAm 140 ml cryogel	Top	4.08	0.201	0.38 ± 0.01
α-Fe2O3-AAm 140 ml cryogel	Middle	3.18	0.167	0.35 ± 0.01
α-Fe2O3-AAm 140 ml cryogel	Bottom	3.70	0.225	0.37 ± 0.01
Average		3.65 ± 0.45	0.198 ± 0.029	0.37 ± 0.02
Gel	Gel section	Pore volume, cc/g	Surface area, m2/g	Compressive modulus, kPa
HEMA (400 ml) pre-freezing method	Top	8.83	0.453	11.6 ± 0.6
HEMA (400 ml) pre-freezing method	Middle	8.89	0.510	13.4 ± 0.9
HEMA (400 ml) pre-freezing method	Bottom	8.46	0.511	12.0 ± 2.4
Average		8.73 ± 0.23	0.491 ± 0.033	12.3 ± 1.2
HEMA (400 ml) conventional method	Top	5.06	0.331	5.6 ± 0.5
HEMA (400 ml) conventional method	Middle	4.78	0.291	5.7 ± 1.3
HEMA (400 ml) conventional method	Bottom	7.90	0.3388	6.8 ± 2.1
Average		5.92 ± 1.73	0.37 ± 0.049	6.0 ± 1.5