Reference electrodes (RE) are essential to many electrochemical measurements and monitoring technologies. True reference electrodes allow measurement of pH, oxidation-reduction potentials, corrosion potentials, and more. The primary role of these REs is to maintain a stable and predictable potential while withstanding an application environment. When these goals cannot be maintained for a suitable amount of time due to complications like contamination or degradation, a pseudo-reference electrode is often used (e.g., a platinum wire) but diminishes the value of the collected electrochemical data (i.e., potential measurements are no longer traceable to the standard hydrogen scale.)

To limit the use of pseudo-reference electrodes, new RE designs are being produced to be more compatible with specific environments, to be more cost-effective, or to exhibit better potential stability for a longer time. Additionally, the operational lifetime/stability of the RE should reflect its application: a small, disposable reference electrode may only need to be stable for a few hours; a reference electrode for daily lab use may need maintenance once every other week; a reference electrode used in a remote location may need to be stable for months or many years without servicing. RE lifetimes are typically determined a posteriori (from observation) and not predicted at the design phase, which can make the process of designing a new RE very inefficient. In this paper, we will discuss key design considerations that impact the stability and lifetime for true reference electrodes.