A porphyrin-linked fullerene derivative, which included COOH groups in its fullerene unit, Por-C-60(COOH) was synthesized in order to investigate the possibility of promoting the photosensitization of TiO2. Por-C-60(COOH) molecules produced higher photocurrent per molecule than tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)-potphyrin molecules. A dye-sensitized solar cell using Por-C-60(COOH), in which a C-60 unit was introduced between the porphyrin unit and TiO2, yielded an improvement in energy conversion for light collection. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.