Nanostructured porous tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) films were prepared by screen printing of an ITO nanoparticle paste onto conducting fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates. The ITO films were subsequently coated with thin layers of TiO2 by the hydrolysis of TiCl4 to form the collector-shell photo-electrodes. The morphology of films was analysed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). It was found that a uniform coating of TiO2 was achieved when three or more deposition cycles were applied. Dye-sensitized solar cells were constructed with the collector-shell photoelectrodes using an electrolyte containing the [Co(bpy)(3)](2+/3+) (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) redox couple and MK-2, an organic sensitizer and efficiencies of 3.3% achieved. Charge transport in cells utilizing the collector-shell electrodes was found to be 2-6 times faster than those utilizing P25-based TiO2 electrodes. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.