Molecular interactions driving the layer-by-layer assembly of multilayers

This article presents an overview of the different types of intermolecular interactions behind the fabrication of multilayer assemblies using the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly approach. It comments on the potential impact of each type of intermolecular interaction and materials assembled through them on the development of advanced functional systems or devices for several emerging applications. The discussion begins with a brief overview of the most commonly used bottom-up methods to modify surfaces and fabricate functional multilayer thin films, with a special focus on their main advantages and disadvantages.This work received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. REGPOT-CT2012-316331-POLARIS. The work was also funded by FEDER through the Competitive Factors Operational Program (COMPETE) and by National funds through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the scope of the projects PTDC/FIS/115048/2009 and PTDC/CTM-BIO/1814/2012. The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr. Luca Gasperini (3B's Research Group, University of Minho, Portugal) for his help with the figures