Alkyl and fluoroalkyl substituted symmetrical and unsymmetrical squaraine dyes have been synthesized for the fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) based on nanoporous TiO(2). Results of DSSC performance clearly indicate that introduction of molecular asymmetry and increase in the alkyl chain length of the squaraine sensitizers leads to the enhancement in the photovoltaic performance. A perusal of photo-action spectra of squaraine sensitizer corroborates that introduction of molecular asymmetry and fluoroalkyl substitution leads to hampering of blue-shifted H-aggregate formation. Estimation of energy of HOMO and LUMO for these squaraine sensitizers used in the present investigation indicates that about 0.16 eV is sufficient for electron injection from photoexcited dye to TiO(2) conduction band and dye regeneration. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.