In this current work, we proposed a modified two-step method to prepare multiwalled carbon nanotube/polypyrrol (MWCNT/PPy) composite counter electrodes (CEs) toward triiodide reduction in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). MWCNTs were deposited onto the surface of fluorinated tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates by electrophoretic deposition, and then subjected to the PPy electropolymerization by using a pulse-reversal technique. With regard to the electropolymerization of PPy on the MWCNTs-coated FTO substrate by conventional cyclic voltammetry (CV) method (designated as MWCNT/PPy-CV CE), the MWCNT/PPy-PR CE still retrained the mesoporous morphology originating from the MWCNT conductive framework and the PPy thin film was found to be evenly coated on the MWCNT surface. According to the extensive electrochemical analyses, the mesoporous nanostructure of the MWCNT/PPy-PR CE provided increased active surface area for I-3(-) reduction and facilitated the electron transport at the interface of CE/electrolyte and the redox electrolyte penetration within the CE. As a result, the DSC assembled with the MWCNT/PPy-PR CE reaches a comparable photovoltaic efficiency of 6.21% to that of the DSC based on the Pt CE (6.66%). (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.