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.
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