Abstract: Carbon aerogel was prepared by means of the sol-gel method from resorcinol and formaldehyde through CO₂ supercritical drying，freeze drying and ambient drying，and the resistivity and pore structure of the product were characterized via N 2 low-temperature adsorption desorption，four-probe method and SEM． Moreover，the influence of carbon aerogel conductive agent on the high-rate discharge performance of Li-MnO₂ battery was investigated． The results indicate that (1) the carbon aerogels produced via different drying methods are of similar resistivity but distinctly different specific surface areas; (2) the carbon aerogel prepared via CO₂ supercritical drying possesses the highest specific surface area (1017. 85m 2 /g) and the largest constant-current specific discharge capacity (101mAh/g at a current of 100mA); (3) the voltage plateau of the carbon aerogel prepared via CO₂ supercritical drying is 80mV higher than that prepared via ambient drying; and (4) there is little difference in the 1 mA discharge capacity of different carbon aerogels． All these above-mentioned statements show that carbon aerogel conductive agents possess higher performance than the commercial acetylene black．

Key words: Li-MnO₂ battery, carbon aerogel, conductive agent, high-rate discharge