Pursuit of cost-effective counter electrode (CE) electrocatalysts with no sacrifice of photovoltaic performances has been a persistent objective for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Here we demonstrate the galvanic replacement realization of cost-effective CEs from Fe@M (M = Pd, Pt) nanospheres for DSSCs. Due to the enhanced catalytic activity originated from compressive strain and extended surface in tuning the electronic structure of Pd (or Pt) shell along with competitive dissolution reaction of Fe with electrolyte, the cells with high durability display efficiencies of 8.74% and 7.22%. The impressive results along with simple synthesis highlight the potential application of Fe@M nanospheres in robust DSSCs. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved: