Elastic properties and heat capacity of opal matrices and related 3D-nanocomposite materials

The elastic properties of opal matrices and related 3D-nanocomposites, as well as their heat capacity, have been investigated. The velocities and attenuation coefficients of longitudinal and transverse waves have been measured at room temperature. The Debye temperature has been calculated from the velocities of ultrasound. The temperature dependence of the heat capacity of the opal matrix has been studied. It has been shown that the low-temperature part of this dependence contains contributions proportional to the first and third powers of the temperature. It has been found that the Debye temperatures determined from the velocities of ultrasound and those obtained from the heat capacity differ significantly.