In this paper, the effect of angstrom-thick atomic layer deposited (ALD) ZnO embedded layer on photovoltaic (PV) performance of Nanowire-Based All-TiO2 solar cells has been systematically investigated. Our results indicate that by varying the thickness of ZnO layer the efficiency of the solar cell can be significantly changed. It is shown that the efficiency has its maximum for optimal thickness of 1 ALD cycle in which this ultrathin ZnO layer improves device performance through passivation of surface traps without hampering injection efficiency of photogenerated electrons. The mechanisms contributing to this unprecedented change in PV performance of the cell have been scrutinized and discussed. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.