Advances in nontraditional luminescent gel soft materials

<h2>Abstract</h2> Nontraditional organic chromophores have gained significant attention as promising alternatives to conventional <i>π</i>-conjugated luminescent materials. These innovative nontraditional systems circumvent the intrinsic limitations of traditional chromophores by leveraging supramolecular interactions (e.g., hydrogen bonding, π–π stacking) to achieve tunable photoluminescence through precisely engineered through-space charge transfer (TSCT) and clusteroluminogenic assemblies. Their unique combination of structural flexibility, intrinsic biocompatibility, and stimulus-responsive characteristics presents transformative potential across diverse applications of optoelectronic devices, chemical sensing platforms, and biomedical engineering. However, practical implementation at scale remains constrained by insufficient solution-processability and inadequate mechanical robustness. Emerging strategies integrating these nontraditional chromophores with gel-based matrices demonstrate particular promise in addressing technological bottlenecks. This review will examine recent breakthroughs in gel soft materials incorporating nontraditional organic chromophores.