TiO2/carbon coaxial-structured nanofibers (TCNFs), applied as photoanodes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), were fabricated by coaxial electrospinning. The precursor of the TCNFs was electrospun using polyacrylonitrile in the core and a blend of titanium isopropoxide and polyvinylpyrrolidone in the shell. After calcination at 500 degrees C for 2 h in air and subsequent carbonization at 1000 degrees C for 2 h in nitrogen, the TCNFs were formed with nanocrystalline TiO2 in the shell layer and carbon in the core. The structure and morphology of the TCNFs were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The photovoltaic properties of the TCNF photoelectrode-based DSSCs were investigated by determining current density-voltage (J-V) curves, incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the TCNF photoelectrode-based DSSC was 7.5%, higher than those of DSSCs with TiO2 nanofiber (TNF)- and TiO2 nanoparticle (TNP)-based photoelectrodes. An increase in the electron transport and suppression of charge recombination were found with the carbon core and nanocrystalline TiO2 shell configuration of the TCNFs. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.