An air-cathode battery includes a porous cathode current collector with an air interface, an ionic liquid electrolyte disposed in pores of the porous cathode current collector; a metal anode, and a separator in contact with the ionic liquid electrolyte and coupled between the porous cathode current collector and the metal anode. The porous cathode current collector is an ionogel formed from a silica sol-gel or a carbonized resorcinol-formaldehyde aerogel and the pores are functionalized with a thiol group-containing species that is functionalized with one or more catalytic nanoparticles or the pores are electroplated with catalytic metal.