There is provided a plastic or gel material comprising a mixture of: (a) a compound of formula (I) or a mixture of two or more compounds of formula (I), (R−)n(Xn−) (I) or a hydrate thereof, wherein n, R+ and Xn− have meanings given in the description (b) one or more uncharged organic compounds, each of which compounds comprises at least one oxygen atom and at least one hydrogen atom that is capable of forming a hydrogen bond with Xn− and (c) one or more polysaccharides, wherein each polysaccharide is a polymer of pyranose monomers, at least 30% of which monomers are in the α-anomeric conformation. There is also provided articles formed from such materials, uses of such materials and processes for forming such materials.
