This research develops an efficient catalyst material for counter electrodes (CEs) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) using an inexpensive and ecologically sustainable manufacturing method. In order to achieve this, bimetallic PtFe nanoparticles are synthesized on an FTO substrate using dry plasma reduction (DPR) under atmospheric pressure. The chemical composition of the PtxFe1-x (0 <= x <= 1) alloy was optimized in order to achieve high catalytic activity and excellent electrical properties in the developed material. It is found that the Pt(0.7)5Fe(0.25) alloy exhibits the largest value of vertical bar I-red vertical bar = 1.440 mA and the lowest value of R-ct = 0.88 Omega. As a result, an efficiency of 8.94% with J(sc) = 15.03 mAcm (2), V-oc = 805 mV, and FF = 74.32% is achieved. The obtained efficiency is higher than that of 8.24% for a device using a Pt1Fe0 CE. The obtained results indicate that the PtFe alloy fabricated using DPR is an alternative CE material for highly efficient DSCs. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.