The manuscript entitle "Photoswitchable layer-by-layer coatings based on photochromic polynorbornenes bearing spiropyran side groups" by  Campos Paula; Dunne Aishling; Delaney Colm; Moloney Cara; Moulton Simon; Benito-Lopez Fernando; Ferreira Marystela; Diamond Dermot and Florea, Larisa has been accepted for publication in the prestigious Langmuir journal from the American Chemical Society (ACS).

The paper presents the synthesis of linear photochromic norbornene polymers bearing spiropyran side groups (poly(SP-R)), and their assembly into LbL films on glass substrates when converted to the poly(MC-R) under UV irradiation. The LbL films were composed of bilayers of poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(MC-R), forming (PAH/poly(MC-R))n coatings. The MC form presents a significant absorption band in the visible spectral region which allowed the LbL deposition process to be tracked by UV-Vis spectroscopy, showing a linear increase of the characteristic MC absorbance band with increased number of bilayers. The thickness and morphology of the (PAH/poly(MC-R))n films were characterised by ellipsometry and Scanning Electron Microscopy, showing a height of ~27.5 nm for the first bilayer and an overall height of ~165 nm for the (PAH/poly(MC-R))5 multilayer film. Prolonged white light irradiation (22h) showed a gradual decrease of the MC band by 90.4 ±2.9% relative to the baseline, indicating the potential application of these films as coatings for photo-controlled delivery systems.