Retrospective on the Future of Polyelectrolyte Multilayers

The layer-by-layer, or multilayer, method of thin film growth has evolved into a widely-used enabling technology. Starting ill the mid 1990's, an exponentially increasing number of publications oil the topic, many appearing in this Journal, have shown how multilayers may be adapted to passive and active coatings, devices and architectures. Looking forward, this Perspective briefly summarizes some of the most promising emerging ideas and applications.