Two novel polymeric metal complexes PZn(Q)(2)-C and PNi(Q)(2)-C based on polycarbazole containing complexes of 8-hydroxyquinoline with Zn(II) and Ni(II) were synthesized and applied in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) as photosensitizers. They possess moderate thermal stability and good open-circuit voltages, and the power conversion efficiency of them reached to 1.11% and 0.45%, respectively, under simulated AM 1.5 G solar irradiation (100 mW cm(-2)), which shows a new strategy to design photosensitizers for DSSCs. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.