Abstract
Metal–air batteries promise high energy storage by coupling metal anodes with oxygen in air, but their rechargeability is limited by sluggish, unstable oxygen reduction and evolution at porous air electrodes. Plasmon-assisted electrocatalysis offers a route to regulate these reactions by converting light into localized electromagnetic fields, energetic carriers, heat, and interfacial charge redistribution. In this Review, the author discusses plasmon-assisted metal–air batteries as light–matter-coupled platforms for reversible oxygen electrochemistry. This work summarizes the fundamentals of aqueous metal–air batteries and localized surface plasmon resonance, outlines materials design principles for plasmonic electrocatalysts and antenna–reactor air electrodes, and examines characterization strategies to distinguish genuine plasmonic effects from photothermal responses. This work concludes by highlighting challenges in electrode architecture, durability, mechanistic validation, and data-driven materials discovery, emphasizing how plasmonic control of oxygen electrochemistry could inform broader strategies for light-regulated catalysis, adaptive electrochemical interfaces, and multifunctional energy-conversion systems.