Some researchers at Fisk University in Nashille, have been a ble to demonstrate a way to improve the efficiencies of hybrid solar

cells by employing a photosensitized high surface area electrode. They did this by growing ZnO nanowires on ITO electrode and decorating the nanowire surface with CdTe quantum dots. The claim is that the nanowires increase the short-circuit photocurrent (Isc) by 20 times under visible light illumination and this was further increased by a factor of ~1.5 due to the photosensitization effect of CdTe. The result, enhancement of the efficiency by by a factor of ~1.6 which is they attribute to the large organic-inorganic interface area where exciton dissociates as well as the broad optical absorption of CdTe of up to 820 nm.

Reference: Aga, R.S.; Jowhar, D.; Ueda, A.; Pan, Z.; Collins, W. E.; Mu, R.; Singer, K.D.; Shen, J., "Enhanced photoresponse in ZnO nanowires decorated with CdTe quantum dot," Applied Physics Letters , vol.91, no.23, pp.232108,232108-3, Dec 2007