A two-step sol gel method was applied to prepare TiO2 nanoparticles using two different primary amines as shape controller. The effect of active sites of amines on the shape of the TiO2 nanocrystals and its effect on the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells were investigated. The results showed that using the diaminodioxaoctane ligand results in well-dispersed 1D TiO2 nanostructures while the diaminooctane ligand gave rise to sheet-like structures. Photovoltaic measurements showed higher conversion efficiency when TiO2 films were prepared using the diaminodioxaoctane ligand (S-DADO) than in the case of the diaminooctane ligand (S-DAO) which is mainly due to the increased light scattering for S-DADO. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.