Two novel trialkylsilyl-containing organic sensitizers (JK-53 and JK-54) have been designed and synthesized. Nanocrystalline TiO2-silica-based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were fabricated using these dyes. Under standard global AM 1.5 solar conditions, the JK-53-sensitized cell gave a short-circuit photocurrent density(J(sc)) of 6.37 mA cm(-2), an open-circuit voltage (V-oc) of 0.70 V, and a fill factor of 0.74. These values correspond to an overall conversion efficiency (eta) of 3.31%. By comparison, the JK-54-sensitized cell resulted in a J(sc) of 7.52 mA cm(-2), a V-oc of 0.71 V, and a fill factor of 0.75. These values give an overall conversion efficiency of 4.01%. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved