We report an approach to the reversible tuning of the band gaps of metal oxide (MO) films. ZnO and CuO, synthesized by hydrothermal methods, were treated with hydrogen and oxygen plasmas. From UV-visible transmittance spectra, we have found that the optical band gaps of MO films blue-shifted with hydrogen plasma treatment, but red-shifted with oxygen plasma treatment. By alternating the treatment sequences of hydrogen and oxygen plasmas, the MO optical band gap values can be reversibly fine-tuned with the tunable ranges of 80 and 550 meV for ZnO and CuO, respectively. The mechanism for reversible tuning of optical band gaps is proposed based on the results of optical emission, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy characterization. Compared to conventional metal ion doping and high temperature annealing methods, the use of room temperature hydrogen and oxygen plasmas for tuning band gaps is more environmentally friendly. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.