How is a gas sensor poisoned by volatile methylsiloxanes?

Abstract

Volatile methyl siloxanes (VMSs), widely present in consumer and industrial products, have attracted increasing concerns due to their persistence, bioaccumulation behavior, and adverse health effects. Beyond their environmental implications, VMSs also pose operational challenges for sensing technologies because they readily decompose on sensing materials to form silicon-based compounds (e.g., silica and silane) that irreversibly impair sensing performance, a phenomenon commonly known as siloxane poisoning. Despite its prevalence, the mechanistic basis of this deactivation remains poorly understood. Herein, we present the first comprehensive theoretical study of siloxane-induced poisoning in catalytic gas sensors. Guided by our self-developed AI Agent, Digital Sensor Platform (DigSen), we first identify siloxane poisoning as a previously overlooked yet high-impact research direction. Using hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDS) as a model compound, we then conducted first-principles calculations to uncover decomposition pathways across noble metal surfaces. Strikingly, a descriptor-based microkinetic volcano model is developed to capture the trade-off between sensing activity and resistance to poisoning, enabling predictive identification of anti-poisoning candidates. These insights not only elucidate the origin of siloxane poisoning but also demonstrate how AI-driven discovery, mechanistic theory, and experiments can be integrated into a closed-loop framework for catalytic sensor design. More broadly, this AI-guided paradigm represents a generalizable strategy for materials digital discovery, offering a transferable methodology that extends well beyond siloxane systems to diverse classes of materials challenges.