Nonlinear thermokinetic phenomena due to the Seebeck effect.

We propose a novel mechanism to produce nonlinear thermokinetic vortex flows around a circular cylinder with ideally high thermal conductivity in an electrolyte. That is, the nonlinear thermokinetic slip velocity, which is proportional to the square of the temperature gradient [∇(T)0(2)], is derived based on the electrolyte Seebeck effect, heat conduction equation, and Helmholtz–Smoluchowski formula. Different from conventional linear thermokinetic theory, our theory predicts that the inversion of the temperature gradient does not change the direction of the thermokinetic flows and thus a Janus particle using this phenomenon can move to the both hotter and colder regions in a temperature gradient field by changing the direction of its dielectric end. Our findings bridge the gap between the electro- and thermo-kinetic phenomena and provide an integrated physical viewpoint for the interface science.