Mechanism of particle thermophoresis in pure solvents

The thermophoresis of particles suspended in a pure solvent is theoretically examined. Thermophoresis is related to the temperature-induced pressure gradient in the solvent surrounding the particle and the resulting relative motion of the particle and the surrounding liquid. The excess pressure is produced by the particle-solvent interaction. As the interaction potential, London-van der Waals forces are considered. Using the known dependence of the interaction potential on the distance between the particle and the solvent molecule, an expression for the thermophoretic mobility (TM) (the particle velocity in a unit temperature gradient) is obtained. The resulting expressions are used to calculate the TM values for silica particles in several organic solvents and water. The calculated TM values for silica particles are of the same order as those reported in the literature. The model is consistent with laboratory measurements of particle thermophoresis, which is weak in water compared with organic solvents. This can be explained by the very low cubic thermal expansion coefficient for water. The calculated retention values for silica particles in thermal field-flow fractionation experiments performed in three organic solvents also follow the order known from literature.