The strength-ductility trade-off in magnesium alloys remains a critical challenge urgently requiring resolution in their engineering applications. In this study, both mechanical and corrosion properties are enhanced in extruded Mg-Y-Nd-Zr alloys by Sm addition. Sm promotes dynamic recrystallization, activates non-basal slip systems and weakens basal texture intensity, leading to the sub-grain lamellar structure and rare earth texture. The EWS2 alloy exhibits an outstanding combination of high yield strength (328 MPa) and ductility (15.1%). Furthermore, the fragmented second phases in the Sm-containing alloy are uniformly distributed, reducing the subsequent corrosion driving force after micro-galvanic corrosion and facilitating the growth of a more passivating and compact corrosion film. These combined effects contribute to the lowest degradation rate in the EWS2 alloy. This study demonstrates the correlation between microstructure and properties in Sm-containing WE series alloys, providing insights for the design of other high performance magnesium alloys.

As electrode materials for supercapacitors, transition metal oxides have some advantages of high theoretical specific capacity, good chemical stability, and abundant sources. However, its inherent poor conductivity, low utilization rate, and poor cycle stability greatly hinder its practical application. Oxygen vacancies in metal oxides can effectively regulate their electronic properties, reduce the band gap, and increase their electrical conductivity, thus significantly improving their electrochemical rate performance. Furthermore, oxygen vacancies can induce a low oxidation state of the metal, provide more active sites for surface redox reactions, and improve its electrochemical storage capacity. The review introduced various preparation methods and characterization techniques of oxygen-vacancy abundant transition metal oxides. This review also represented the latest advances of various metal oxides with oxygen vacancies from single metal oxides, bimetal oxides, and heteroatom doped metal oxides to achieve the superior performance for supercapacitors. In addition, some challenges and opportunities for the further development of metal oxides in electrochemical energy storage were also pointed out.