A solid-state mesoporous titanium dioxide (mTiO(2)) layer based hetero-junction solar cell, employing nanoparticles (NPs) of methyl ammonium lead iodide perovskite (CH3NH3PbI3) as light harvesters has been studied. The optimum performance parameters of CH3NH3PbI3 are observed as a function of sintering temperature and confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis and UV-vis spectrophotometry. A solid-state solar cell with the sandwich structure of mTiO(2)/CH3NH3PbI3/Graphite paste showed a power conversion efficiency of 1.11% tested under standard Air Mass 1.5 Global (1000W m(-2), AM1.5G) solar spectrum. Two-diode model is used to explore the performance limiting factors of the developed solid-state perovskite solar cell. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.