Scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) is employed to directly identify the structure-dependent electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (eCO₂RR) activity of molybdenite (MoS₂) electrocatalysts in an aqueous imidazolium-based aprotic ionic liquid electrolyte. Nanoscale defects, where the edge plane (EP) is exposed, are directly targeted, revealing heightened overall activity (eCO₂RR + the competing hydrogen evolution reaction, HER) over the relatively inactive basal plane (BP). In addition, certain types of defects (e.g., step edges) only exhibit heightened activity under a CO₂ atmosphere (i.e., compared to N₂), indirectly confirming higher selectivity at these surface sites. Overall, this work will guide the bottom-up design of earth-abundant electrocatalysts for use in large-scale CO₂ electrolysis.

中文翻译：

---

辉钼矿 (MoS2) 电催化剂上结构依赖性 CO2 还原

_{采用扫描电化学电池显微镜（SECCM）直接识别辉钼矿（MoS 2}）电催化剂在咪唑基水基非质子离子液体电解质中的结构依赖性电化学CO ₂还原反应（eCO ₂ RR）活性。边缘平面 (EP) 暴露的纳米级缺陷被直接瞄准，显示出相对不活跃的基底平面 (BP) 整体活性更高（eCO ₂ RR + 竞争性析氢反应，HER）。此外，某些类型的缺陷(例如，台阶边缘)仅在CO ₂气氛下表现出增强的活性(即，与N ₂相比)，间接证实了在这些表面位点处的更高选择性。总的来说，这项工作将指导用于大规模CO ₂电解的地球丰富的电催化剂的自下而上的设计。