Thermophoretic force on micro- and nanoparticles in dilute binary gas mixtures

We theoretically investigate the thermophoretic force on spherical particles in binary monatomic gas mixtures in the free molecular regime. Based on gas kinetic theory and by considering the gas-particle interactions, we derive the analytical formulas of the thermophoretic force for two limiting gas-particle collision models; namely, specular and diffuse scattering scenarios. The formulas are consistent with those in simple gases and apply to both micro- and nanoparticles; for the latter the intermolecular interactions are important. As an example, the thermophoretic force on Ag nanoparticles in He-Ar mixtures is illustrated.