A platinum (Pt) film is electro-deposited into the voids of a polystyrene (PS) template on an FTO glass. After the removal of the template by heating, the Pt film forms a novel submicron structure with organized pores in it (designated as e-PtOP). The FTO glass with this Pt structure is used as the counter electrode (CE) for a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). Higher surface area, and thereby higher electrocatalytic ability of the e-PtOP render higher short-circuit current density for the pertinent DSSC (18.94 mA cm(-2)) than that of the cell with a Pt film obtained without PS template (16.63 mA cm(-2)). A thin layer of Pt is further sputtered onto the e-PtOP to render an increased fill factor of the DSSC with the corresponding CE. Consequently, the power-conversion efficiency of this cell is thus enhanced from 6.03 to 8.89%, with reference to the cell with a Pt film obtained without PS template. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.