Tungsten oxide is a kind of tungstic anhydride and a kind of tungstate product. Tungsten oxide includes trioxide and tungsten dioxide. Tungsten oxide is partly used in the production of chemical products, such as paints and coatings, petroleum industrial catalysts, etc. But tungsten oxide is more an intermediate product and is widely used in the preparation of tungsten metal powder and tungsten carbide powder. It is used in the production of tungsten metal products and a large number of tungsten alloy products.

The active atoms of tungsten oxide are located on the surface of the crystal, which greatly enlarges the contact area between the crystal surface and the gas, and can effectively improve the gas sensing performance. Tungsten oxide with one-dimensional nanowire structure attracts many researchers because of its huge specific surface area.

When a semiconductor irradiates light with energy above bandgap, the electrons of valence band excite in the conduction band, generate holes in the valence band, and generate electrons in the conduction band. They have strong oxidation and reduction abilities respectively, and have redox effects on molecular species in contact with semiconductors. Such an action is called photocatalysis, and such semiconductors are called photocatalysts.

In recent years, graphene, conductive polymers and transition metal oxide composites have attracted more and more attention of researchers, and have become one of the foreword fields of electrochemical research.