title: Gas-nanoparticle scattering: a molecular view of momentum accommodation function.
abstract: We examine the origin of diffuse gas-particle scattering by molecular dynamics simulation and show that diffuse scattering is the consequence of gas molecule trapping on the particle surface. Trapping occurs because of gas-particle interactions and the particle's ability of energy accommodation. These observations explain the transition from specular-to-diffuse scattering as the particle size becomes larger than the molecular size. We discuss the implication of this transition on the transport properties of nanometer-size particles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang