Wet chemical synthesis of nanostructured semiconductor layers for thin-film solar thermoelectric generator

[Display omitted] •Semiconductor layers for thin-film solar thermoelectric generator obtained.•Wet chemical synthesis of nanostructured Bi2S3, CuI and PbS layers presented.•Smooth continuous Bi2S3, CuI, PbS films deposited on hard and flexible substrates.•Optical properties of Bi2S3, CuI and PbS films researched.•Temperature dependent resistivities, Seebeck coefficients, power factors studied. The work is devoted to the creation of the nanostructured bismuth sulfide (Bi2S3), copper iodide (CuI) and lead sulfide (PbS) semiconductor layers for thin-film solar thermoelectric generator by means of wet chemical synthesis, namely, via Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) or via Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR). Ways to overcome the problems of poor adhesion of Bi2S3 layers to glass, mica and polyimide substrates and to remove restrictions deal with low thickness limits for Bi2S3 and PbS have been shown. Optical properties of the smooth and continuous ∼1.0–1.2μm thick Bi2S3, CuI and PbS films researched, which were deposited on the solid glass surfaces and on the flexible mica or polyimide substrates. The obtained films have polycrystalline structures of the corresponding bulk semiconductors with grain sizes of several tens of nanometers. Studies of their temperature dependent resistivities ρ, Seebeck coefficients S and power factors P=S2/ρ are depicted, which confirmed that the obtained thin-film materials are promising for the solar heat transforming into electricity.