This work presents a study of the influence of sol-gel synthesis conditions on the reactivity and stability of synthetic sol-gel CaO sorbents for Ca-looping CO2 capture. The temperature of the synthesis calcination and the amount of granular activated carbon introduced during sol-gel synthesis play key roles in the performance of sol-gel sorbents along the Ca-looping cycles. A higher initial CO2 uptake was achieved for the sol-gel sorbents calcined at 750 degrees C. For the sol-gel sorbents calcined at 850 degrees C, both the reactivity and stability strongly depend on the amount of activated carbon incorporated during the sol-gel synthesis. By the combination of an adequate synthesis calcination temperature with the addition of an adequate amount of granular activated carbon during the sol-gel synthesis of CaO sorbents, it is possible to design and optimize synthetic sol gel sorbents, tailoring their performance with regard to a desired high CO2 capture capacity, an excellent stability, or both.