Patent ID: 7695769

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a composite, comprising the steps in the order of: applying a solution to a base body surface, wherein the solution contains multiple carbon nanotubes to which multiple functional groups are bonded and may further contain additional substances; curing the solution, thereby mutually cross-linking the multiple carbon nanotubes through either direct chemical bonds formed among the multiple functional groups, or by cross-linking the multiple functional groups together through a cross-linking agent, in order to construct a network structure of cross-linked carbon nanotubes that forms a cross-linked substance film on the base body surface; impregnating the network structure with a polymer liquid; and curing the polymer liquid impregnated in the network structure to form a nanotube-polymer composite, wherein a reaction that forms the chemical bonding comprises a substitution reaction for chemically bonding the multiple functional groups together, and the solution further contains an additive comprising a base selected from the group consisting of sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, pyridine, and sodium ethoxide that forms the chemical bonding of the multiple functional groups together.