As potential high-capacity anode materials for Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), TMDCs have gained considerable attention, especially WS2 nanomaterials, which exhibit a higher theoretical specific capacity (433 mAh.g-1) than commercial graphite due to the 2D layer structure and the large platelet space. When used as an anode for lithium-ion batteries, WS2 exhibits an increasing lithium storage capacity. For example, Liu et al. prepared an ordered mesoporous WS2 as an anode for LIBs, which showed a high lithium storage capacity of 805 mAh.g-1 at a current of 0.1A.g-1.

Tungsten disulfide (WS2) is a semiconductor with a band gap, which gives WS2 a wide range of light absorption, and therefore, WS2 can be considered a promising photocatalyst for photocatalysis degradation of organic pollutants and hydrogen production from water decomposition. WS2 extends the light absorption region to the long-wave direction, and through morphological tuning, WS2 can achieve near-infrared photocatalytic activity.

WS₂ has attracted much attention due to its unique structural properties and suitable hydrogen binding energy (comparable to platinum group metals). WS₂ nanomaterials have been extensively investigated for energy conversion and storage systems.

To improve the electrical and catalytic properties of WS₂, the synthesis of WS₂ composites from other materials with good electrical conductivity is a promising approach. Composites are materials in which one material is the matrix and another material is used as the reinforcement. The various materials complement each other in terms of properties and create a synergistic effect, resulting in an overall performance superior to the original material.

In WS₂ hybrid structures, atomic doping is one of the effective ways to change the physical and chemical properties of the material, such as band gap and optical properties. For example, Sasaki et al. demonstrated that the exciton absorption peaks at 1.94 and 2.34 eV, respectively, were broadened by Nb doping. This suggests that excitons in WS₂ monolayers are sensitive to Nb doping because of the enhancement of the inhomogeneous broadening rate.

Various forms of WS₂ nanomaterials include nanosheets, IF-WS₂, NT-WS₂, and other forms. Chemical gas-solid reactions are the most well-known and established method for the synthesis of IF WS₂ nanoparticles and nanotubes. Tenne et al. initially synthesized IF WS₂ nanoparticles and nanotubes using WO₃ films and H₂S in a reducing atmosphere (95% N₂ + 5% H₂) at 850 °C. However, only a small amount of products could be synthesized by this method.

Nanosheets of tungsten disulfide nanomaterials are the most common form, and the main synthetic strategies can be divided into two categories: top-down and bottom-up approaches. Top-down approaches allow the production of small amounts or single-layer samples at a lower cost, which is very beneficial for basic research. Among these top-down methods, mechanical peeling via Scotch tape is the simplest method, with only a few or single layers of WS₂ exfoliated via Scotch tape.

1T-WS₂ structure and 2H-WS₂ structure of tungsten disulfide nanomaterials controlled synthesis is important. The 1T-WS₂ structure is considered an efficient co-catalyst for hydrogen evolution due to the increased density of catalytic active sites and the metal conductivity, while the 2H-WS₂ structure can be used as a visible photosensitizer. Therefore, various synthetic methods for the crystalline phase modulation of WS₂ have received much attention. Since the conversion from 1T-WS₂ to stable 2H-WS₂ can be easily achieved by annealing, the study of feasible methods to achieve the opposite conversion has received much attention.

Due to the promising applications of tungsten disulfide nanomaterials in the field of energy conversion and storage, efforts have been made to study and improve its electrical characteristic and HER mechanism of WS₂, such as carrier concentration (p), mobility (μ), and resistivity (ρ). According to theoretical predictions, WS₂ has the highest electron mobility in semiconductor TMDCs due to the reduced effective mass.

Compared with semiconducting materials, tungsten disulfide nanomaterials exhibit higher light absorption, and photocatalytic properties are another important property. For semiconductor materials, light absorption properties are very important, especially for photocatalysis. When WS₂ absorbs photons, transitions between in-band, out-of-band, and impurity defects occur, which can form specific absorption spectra. The characteristic absorption peak of bulk WS₂ is near the wavelength of 910 nm and is located in the near-infrared (NIR) region. By forming nanostructures, a blue shift of the WS₂ characteristic absorption peak can be observed.