Ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) have widespread use in
the fields
of clinical and environmental analyses. Tetrahydrofuran (THF) is the
most used solvent for the preparation of modern ISEs, equipped with
ion-selective membranes (ISMs). Until now, the influence of impurities
in THF toward potentiometric instability of ion-selective membrane
based ISEs was probably associated with the presence of either residual
water or peroxide. To address this issue, most literature recommends
redistilling THF prior to use in the preparation of the potentiometric
membranes. Current study reveals that the actual THF impurity that
is responsible for potential instability in the ISM includes products
from the oxidation of THF, which contains the hydroxyl group and possibly
carbonyl group with a boiling point of above 200 °C. The density
functional theory calculation supported pathway of the chemical reaction
of THF oxidation, hence, the chemical structure of the uncertain impurities
was predicted. The underlying reason for the deteriorating potential
stability of the ISEs is proposed as the significant hydrophilicity
of these impurities that affect the partitioning of the ion sensing
components in the membrane, thus enhancing the leaching of the membrane
components from the membrane phase. This finding explains why redistillation
of aged THF is advised.