This paper reports a simple hydrothermal route for the preparation of rod-cluster ZnO nanostructures and their application to dye-sensitized solar cells. The effects of reaction conditions on the morphologies of ZnO nanostructures and the performance of cells had been investigated including hydrothermal temperature, time and pH value of the reaction solution. The product synthesized with pH = 10 of the reacting solution at 120 degrees C for 18 h comparatively shows the best photoelectric conversion efficiency of 2.42% on the basis of its structural superiority for light capture and dye absorption. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.