Attapulgite nanoparticles were used to improve photovoltaic performance of phthalocyanine-sensitized solar cells. The effects of attapulgite on the devices were investigated in details. Adding of attapulgite into TiO2 electrodes not only reduced the adsorption of zinc octacarboxylic phthalocyanine but also prevented phthalocyanine aggregation effect, which greatly improved photovoltaic performance of the dye-sensitized solar cell. The solar cell with 10 mg attapulgite nanoparticles dispersed in the dye solution exhibited nearly three times larger photoelectric conversion efficiency under simulated AM 1.5 G irradiation (100 mW cm(-2)) when compared to the pure dye, which was further characterized by the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The EIS studies showed that attapulgite decreased the charge-transfer resistances at the TiO2/dye/electrolyte interface, which can promote electron transport. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.