New polysaccharide-based materials

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.