Aluminum–air batteries as performance-enhancing power sources for near-field communication wearable glucose biosensing

Metal–air batteries offer high theoretical energy density, intrinsic safety, and flexibility, making them promising candidates for powering wearable electronics. Here, we report a thin aluminum–air (Al–air) battery integrated with a Near-Field Communication-enabled (NFC) sweat glucose sensing patch. The cell employs a neutral xanthan gum–based gel polymer electrolyte and a graphite air cathode built on hydrophilic-functionalized carbon cloth to promote rapid water uptake. A key feature is the battery dry-state storage, which mitigates anodic corrosion and extends shelf life; battery’s performance is recovered on demand by cathode-side rehydration using microvolumes of water. Electrochemical characterization shows reversible activation/deactivation and stable low-current operation relevant to wearable sensors. In this application, the Al–air cell is used to provide an auxiliary bias prior to wireless interrogation, pre-conditioning the sensing interface, reducing early-time transients and baseline drift in the amperometric readout. When coupled to the NFC patch, battery-assisted pre-condition enables faster stabilization, higher reproducibility, and reliable response among the selected glucose concentrations under intermittent NFC readout. These results highlight thin Al–air batteries as promising safe, sustainable power elements that can also enhance the robustness of wearable biosensing measurements.