In this article, nanorod ZnO structured dye sensitized solar cells have been fabricated. Also, a compact ZnO layer was prepared to prevent back electron reactions. Device architectures were fabricated in a FTO/compact ZnO layer/nanorod ZnO layer/dye/redox mediator/Pt/FTO configuration. Nanorod ZnO electrodes were synthesized using microwave irradiation with a diameter of 14-18 nm and a length of 558 nm. The ZnO nanorod, compact ZnO products were analyzed and characterized using x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. ZnO nanorod structured dye sensitized solar cells using triphenylene diamine dyes with and without a ZnO compact layer showed efficiencies in the range of 0.64-0.96%. Sensitization of a ZnO nanorod structured dye sensitized solar cell device using TPD_2 dye with the lowest band gap shows the cell performance with an efficiency (eta) of 0.84%, a short-circuit photocurrent density (I-sc) of 3.49 mA/cm(2), an open-circuit voltage (V-oc) of 600 mV, and a fill factor of 0.40.