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The low melting point, negligible vapor pressure, good solubility, and thermal and chemical stability make ionic liquids useful materials for a wide variety of applications. Polyoxometalates are early transition metal oxygen clusters that can be synthesized in many different sizes and with a variety of heterometals. The most attractive feature of POMs is that their physical properties, in particular electrical, magnetic, and optical properties, can be easily modified following known procedures. POM ionic liquids can be obtained by selecting the appropriate cation. Different alkyl ammonium and alkyl phosphonium salts are being used to produce new POM ionic liquids together with organic or inorganic luminescent centers to design light emitting materials. Ammonium and phosphonium cations with activated, polymerizable groups are being used to further polymerize the ionic liquid into transparent, solid materials with high metal densities.

A room temperature fulleride-based ionic liquid has been developed and characterized. Utilizing the trihexyl (tetradecyl) phosphonium cation, the ionic liquid [PC6C6C6C14]3 [C60]Cl was synthesized, and distinctly shows spectroscopic characteristics of the [C60]2- anion. The glass transition of the ionic liquid occurs well below room temperature at -56 {degree sign} C, but it still retains an extremely high viscosity at room temperature. Attempts were made to obtain the pure fulleride salt [PR4]3[C60], but nearly always results in the binary fulleride-chloride salt.