One of the challenges in developing advanced dye -sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) is the pursuit of costeffective and robust counter electrodes (CEs). We present here the successful synthesis of binary PtxM100-x (M = Ni, Co, Fe) alloy nanostructures on Ti foil by a facile and environmental -friendly strategy for utilization as CEs in liquid junction DSSCs. Due to the reasonable charge-transfer ability and excellent electrocatalytic activity, the resultant DSSC yields a promising power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.42% with binary Pt0.28Ni99.72 CE in comparison with 6.18% for pristine Pt CE based device. The easy synthesis, cost-effectiveness, and good electrocatalytic property may help the Pt0.28Ni99.72 nanostructure stand out as an alternative CE electrocatalyst in a DSSC. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.