Sol-modified ZnO photoanode for highly-efficient quantum dots sensitized solar cells

► Sol-modification could effectively suppress the agglomeration of ZnO powder. ► Homogeneous SM-ZnO photoanode for QDSSCs were prepared by doctor-blade technique. ► CdS/CdSe co-sensitized SM-ZnO solar cell yielded conversion efficiency up to 2.64%. ► Compared with ZnO, conversion efficiency of SM-ZnO based QDSSC increased by 52.6%.