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[Display omitted] • 1T-MoS 2 /PMS oxidation process was successfully established for IMI degradation. • The nano-scale 1T-MoS 2 exhibited good catalytic activity for PMS oxidation process. • The activation mechanism of PMS by 1T-MoS 2 was revealed. • The degradation pathway of IMI by 1T-MoS 2 /PMS oxidation process was proposed. Imidacloprid (IMI) which has been widely detected in the natural water environment is potentially genotoxic to humans and should be effectively eliminated. Persulfate-based advanced oxidation processes are considered to be reliable means aiming at organic pollutants degradation, while an efficient catalyst is urgently needed for the activation of the reaction. As a two-dimensional material, 1T-MoS 2 is expected to be applied for the activation of persulfates due to its abundant active sites and good electrical conductivity. Therefore, in this study, 1T-MoS 2 was synthesized by a simple and safe two-step solvothermal reaction and proposed as an emerging activator of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for the degradation of IMI. It was found that 1T-MoS 2 has significantly better catalytic performance on PMS than 2H-MoS 2 and Bulk-MoS 2 , reaching. 76.4 % at pH = 3. The degradation rate of IMI reduced under alkaline conditions due to the inhibition of catalytic processes. Among the different coexisting anions, H C O 3 - had the greatest degree of interference and inhibition to the degradation process, resulting in the lowest IMI degradation rate for only 42.45 %. Quenching experiments and EPR analysis showed that S O 4 - ∙ and OH were the main reactive oxygen species in the 1T-MoS 2 /PMS process. In addition, the IMI degradation pathways analyzed by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS included dehydrogenation, electrophilic addition, heterocyclic ring breakage and intramolecular rearrangement. This study promotes the application of 1T-MoS 2 and is expected to provide a novel persulfate-based advanced oxidation process catalyzed by 1T-MoS 2 for IMI elimination in the aqueous environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]