Abstract. The main aim behind the present study is solar cells of increased efficiency and low cost per unit of power generation, specifically dye-sensitized cells. Their first component is semiconducting ZnO commonly used to build photovoltaics, which absorbs sunlight in the ultraviolet region. The second component, the dye coumarin-153 that absorbs in a lower-energy spectral region, enhances the light harvesting. We study the optical absorbance and fluorescence for the combination of coumarin-153 with ZnO nanoparticles, which are prepared in sol-gel films formed using a simple spin-coating technique for creating a stable photovoltaic.