Research advances of magnesium and magnesium alloys worldwide in 2021

More than 4000 papers in the field of Mg and Mg alloys were published and indexed in Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection database in 2021. The bibliometric analyses indicate that the microstructure, mechanical properties, and corrosion of Mg alloys still are the main research focus. Mg ion batteries and hydrogen storage Mg materials have attracted much attention. Significant contributions to the research and development of magnesium alloys were made by Chongqing University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, and Chinese Academy of Sciences in China, Helmholtz Zentrum Hereon in Germany, Ohio State University in the United States, the University of Queensland in Australia, Kumanto University in Japan, and Seoul National University in Korea, University of Tehran in Iran, etc.. This review is aimed to summarize the progress in the development of structural and functional Mg and Mg alloys in 2021. Based on the issues and challenges identified here, some future research directions are suggested.