Three novel triphenylamine-based D-A-π-A-featured dyes (Z1-Z3) have been designed, synthesized and characterized for use in dye-sensitized solar cells. Benzothiazole was incorporated as an additional acceptor, which greatly enhanced the molar extinction coefficient of the dyes. Various conjugated linkers, such as benzene, furan and thiophene, were also introduced to configure the novel D-A-π-A framework in order to prolong electron flow and active transportation. Among all dyes, Z2 containing a thiophene linker exhibited the maximum overall conversion efficiency (η) of 4.16% (Jsc = 9.27 mA cm-2 , Voc = 642 mV, FF = 0.70) under standard global AM 1.5 G solar condition.
