How far can you stretch 'ionic liquid' before it snaps? Exploring the fine line between exact science and speculative science

The dataset contains the results of a bibliometric analysis based on the Scopus database, focusing on scientific publications related to ionic liquids. The data were collected in April 2025 to assess the popularity of selected search phrases and their geographical and temporal distribution.The set includes two separate files in .xlsx format:Country_analysis_ionic_liquids.xlsx – provides numerical data showing the number of publications for selected keyword combinations (e.g., “Ionic liquids AND synthesis”, “AND thermal stability”) by country. This file allows for the evaluation of research activity in this thematic area at the national level.Yearly_trends_ionic_liquids.xlsx – contains similar data broken down by year (2020–2024), enabling the analysis of temporal trends in research on ionic liquids.