Fecha de publicación: -- Fuente: Journal of applied polymer Lugar: RESEARCH ARTICLE Transparent PETG-based glass fiber-reinforced composites are endowed with multifunctional surfaces through organosilica coatings. The coatings preserve high optical transmittance while providing hydrophobic self-cleaning and enhanced durability, whereas the transparent laminate itself enables damage self-reporting through strain-induced transparency attenuation. The approach integrates surface protection and visual damage indication in a lightweight transparent composite.

ABSTRACT
Transparent glass fiber-reinforced polymer composites (tGFRPs) are promising for photovoltaic and architectural applications, but surface contamination, poor self-cleaning capability, and limited durability hinder their practical use. In this study, highly transparent PETG-based tGFRP laminates were fabricated through hot-pressing optimization, yielding a maximum transmittance of 80.9% and a haze of 11.6%. Two transparent organic–inorganic hybrid hydrophobic coatings with different organosilane compositions were then prepared via a sol–gel process. Both coatings formed dense surface layers, reduced surface roughness, and improved optical performance, with transmittance increasing to 81.8% and 83.1% and haze decreasing to 10.9% and 10.1%, respectively. Meanwhile, the coatings transformed the laminate surface from hydrophilic to hydrophobic, with water contact angles of 110.3° and 129.7° and sliding angles of 12.3° and 8.5°, respectively. The octyl-containing coating showed better self-cleaning and anti-fouling performance, whereas the methyl-functional coating exhibited superior mechanical and chemical durability. In addition, tGFRP showed damage self-reporting capability through transparency attenuation during tensile loading, and the local transparency variation correlated well with the DIC strain distribution. These findings provide a feasible strategy for developing multifunctional transparent composites with combined surface functionality and damage self-reporting capability.