Disclosed herein are composite materials, ionic liquid compositions for preparing the composite materials, and methods for using the composite materials prepared from the ionic liquid compositions. The composite materials typically include structural polysaccharides, structural proteins, and optionally including metal or metal oxide particles. The composite materials may be prepared from ionic liquid compositions comprising the structural polysaccharides, structural proteins, and the optional metal or metal oxide particles, where the ionic liquid is removed from the ionic liquid compositions to obtain the composite materials.