In order to investigate the influence of electron-donating ability of donors on the energy level and photovoltaic performance in donor-π-acceptor(D-π-A)dyes,a series of conjugated D-π-A dyes based on triphenylamine containing various donor units,which can be represented as D-Dx(where D is triphenylamine and Dx is phenothiazine(PTZ),thiophene(Thio)or benzothiadiazole(BT))and an electron accepting side-chain(cyanoacetic acid)with additional thiophene units as the π-conjugating linkers have been designed and facilely prepared.The electron-donating ability of the D-Dx donors can be adjusted though varying Dx group.