Cu2S/brass-mesh has been successfully developed as a counter electrode (CE) in a CdS quantum dot sensitized solar cell (QDSSC) to attain power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.81% under front-side light illumination, equivalent to 2.01% for Cu2S/brass-sheet CE based QDSSC. Furthermore, the Cu2S/brassmesh CE achieved a PCE of 0.48% upon light illumination from CE side for the first time. It appears that the Cu2S/ brass-mesh CE can be used to fabricate cost-effective dual-side illuminated QDSSCs for lightweight applications. (C) 2017 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.