Zinc oxide is used as a sun screener. It serves as an additive in products such as cigarette filters, plastics, anticorrosive coatings, ceramics, glass, cement, lubricants, ointments, adhesives, sealants, pigments, batteries, ferrites, fire retardants, and first-aid tapes.
It is employed in the manufacture of white enamels and for polishing glass. It has a broad range of applications in many areas such as semiconductors, photovoltaic materials, solar cells, lithium ion batteries, photocatalysts, and as gas-sensing agents in solid-state detectors.