Three types of novel diketopyrrolopyrrole-based organic dyes (Type 1-3) with phenyl unit as an additional pi-bridge and triphenylamine or phenothiazine as the donors are designed and synthesized for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Type 1 dyes incorporating the donor segment directly to the diketopyrrolopyrrole core lead to a better electron communication between the donor and acceptor, allowing an efficient charge transfer process. Type 2 and Type 3 dyes with a phenyl unit between the donor and diketopyrrolopyrrole unit show lower delocalization of the excited state. Compared with Type 3 dyes, Type 1 dyes exhibit higher conjugated skeleton co planarity and shorter electron transfer distance from the donor to TiO2, resulting in the red-shifts of absorption and promotion of electron injection, respectively. Moreover, the dyes with triphenylamine as the donor display better UV performance and lower trend of aggregation than the dyes with phenothiazine as the donor. Finally, a power conversion efficiency of 8% with chenodeoxycholic acid as the co-absorbant for the DSSC based on Type 1 dyes with triphenylamine is achieved. The results reveal that the donors, the position and number of phenyl unit of the dyes significantly influence the photovoltaic performance of their DSSCs. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.