2, 9, 16, 23-tetracarboxy zinc phthalocyanine （ZnTCPc） is synthesized and characterized by physicochemical and theoretical methods and it is used as a photosensitizer in dye-sensitized solar cells （DSSC）. The excited lifetime, band gap and frontier orbital distribution of ZnTCPc are investigated by fluorescence spectra, cyclic voltammetry and quantum calculation. The results show that the excited lifetime and band gap are 0. 1 ns and 1.81 eV, respectively. Moreover, it is found that the highest occupied molecular orbital （HOMO） location is not shared by both the zinc metal and the isoindoline ligands, and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital（LUMO） location does not strengthen the interaction coupling between ZnTCPc and TiO：. As a result, the ZnTCPc-DSSC gains a short-circuit current density of 0. 147 mA/cm2, an open-circuit photovoltage of 277 mV, a fill factor of 0. 51 and an overall conversion efficiency of 0. 021%.
