Replacing 1-octanol with more hydrophobic aliphatic alcohols, namely 1-nonanol, 1-decanol, and 1-undecanol, improved the stability but also decreased recoveries further (data not shown). This was because the hydrophobic barrier of the liquid membrane was increased without any increase in HBA, HBD or dipole interactions. Despite their frequent use throughout literature, 1-octanol and other aliphatic alcohols were therefore concluded to be unsuitable as generic liquid membranes.