Is there any reason why KMnO4 for TLC is stored under basic condition?

my mentor told me that the KMnO4 solution specifically for TLC has added some bases like sodium hydroxide but we don't know why. I try to search on google, and found that the bases are usually by-products in the industrial method when preparing KMnO4 from [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_permanganate#Preparation).


Which are,


2 K2MnO4 + 2 H2O → 2 KMnO4 + 2 KOH + H2


3 K2MnO4 + 2 CO2 → 2 KMnO4 + 2 K2CO3 + MnO2


But is there any reason why they keep the bases?




Two reasons come to mind:


* **It's made that way.** Potassium permanganate is made by oxidizing manganese dioxide (available as the mineral pyrolusite) with air in concentrated potassium hydroxide (to form initially potassium manganate (VI), $\ce{K2MnO4}$), and then diluting the solution (which disproportionates the potassium manganate(VI) to $\ce{KMnO4}$ plus part of the original $\ce{MnO2}$). Note that the manganate(VI) formation step does not work with sodium hydroxide, which explains why we usually have the potassium salt to begin with.
* **We don't want to tempt fate.** Potassium permanganate solutions are only meta-stable. But it turns out that their decomposition tends to consume aqueous hydrogen ions. So starving the water of these can be expected to improve shelf life:


$\ce{4MnO4^- + 4H^+ -> 4 MnO2(s) + 2H2O + 3O2}$


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