h i g h l i g h t s g r a p h i c a l a b s t r a c t SnO 2 eTiO 2 branched nanostructure serves as model architecture for DSSCs. The novel structure combines fast electron transport, slow recombina-tion and high specific surface area. A maximum efficiency of 7.06% was achieved. a b s t r a c t We report a branched hierarchical nanostructure of TiO 2 nanoneedles on SnO 2 nanofiber network (B-SnO 2 NF) that serves as model architecture for highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The nanostructure simultaneously offers a low degree of charge recombination, a fast electron transport and a large specific surface area. The power conversion efficiency for B-SnO 2 NF52 (with SnO 2 NF diameter w52 nm) is up to 7.06%, increased by 26% and 40% compared to B-SnO 2 NF113 (5.57%, with SnO 2 NF diameter w113 nm) and TiO 2 nanoparticle (5.04%, P25), respectively, and more than five times as large as SnO 2 NF52 (1.34%). The distinct photovoltaic behavior of the B-SnO 2 NF52 is its large short-circuit current density (J sc , 20.5 mA cm À2) as compared with the commonly used P25 photoanode (11.7 mA cm À2). Our results indicate that J sc enhancement derived by the slower electron recombination associated with the SnO 2 eTiO 2 coreeshell heterojunction and faster electron transport in SnO 2 NF network could syner-gistically contribute to high efficiency. Ó 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.