However, by making something out of ions that are bulky and asymmetrical (they have names such as 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium and hexafluorophosphate, which are as complicated as the ions they represent), the attractive electrical forces can be kept so far apart that the resulting substance is a liquid at room temperature.

ECONOMIST: Ionic solvent

Instead of secreting a sticky substance, as you might expect, they owe their adhesive properties to incredibly weak intermolecular attractive forces.

ECONOMIST: REPORTS