The facilitated transfer of alkaline-earth metal ions across the nitrobenzene I water interface due to the complexation with polyoxyethylene(40)isooctylphenyl ether (Triton X-405) causes abnormally large ion transfer currents across the interface. This reproducible anomaly due to the convective transport of the Triton X-405-ion complex formed in the vicinity of the interface is an example of the electrochemical instability, which was recently proposed for the transfer of surface active ions across the liquid\liquid interface, in the case of interfacial complexation. Well-known interfacial turbulences in the process of solvent extraction may be interpreted in terms of the electrochemical instability. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.