A novel and efficient polyene-diphenylaniline dye for dye-sensitized solar cells has been synthesized. The dye has a short synthesis route and is readily adsorbed on TiO₂ under a variety of dye-bath conditions. The overall solar-to-energy conversion efficiency is over 5% in the preliminary tests, in comparison with the conventional N719 dye which gives 6% under the same conditions. The dye is designed for future use also in solid state devices, with triarylamine based hole conductors.