Negative thermophoresis of nanoparticles in the free molecular regime.

Negative thermophoresis is a phenomenon of particle transport induced by a temperature gradient, by which small particles migrate from low to high temperatures. In gas media, it depends strongly on the gas-particle interaction and temperature. In this paper, we show that negative thermophoresis is possible in the free molecular regime and a theoretical criterion is derived. On the basis of a general gas-particle interaction potential, an empirical necessary condition for negative thermophoresis that the potential parameters should satisfy is also obtained. Finally, the temperature ranges for the occurrence of negative thermophoresis are determined for a series of gas-particle interaction parameters.