An efficient electrocatalyst for Pt-free I-/I-3(-) reduction has been synthesized by high temperature treatment of graphene oxide-cobalt phthalocyanine mixtures. The graphitic material was characterized by various techniques and was found to consist of reduced graphene oxide carrying CoN3 entities, obtained by thermal decomposition of cobalt phthalocyanine. This material had an ionization potential equal to 4.9 +/- 0.1 eV and thus it was judged appropriate to act as reduction electrocatalyst for the I-/I-3(-) redox electrolyte. It was subsequently deposited as thin film on FTO electrodes, which were employed as counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells. Its capacity to reduce I-/I-3(-) redox electrolyte was verified by electrochemistry. When it was finally employed for the construction of solar cells, it demonstrated full capacity to substitute standard Pt electrocatalyst verifying that the construction of Pt-free dye-sensitized solar cells is feasible. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.