Flower-like ZnO nanosheets with porous structure are obtained by an indirect electrodeposition method. That is, flower-like Zn-4(OH)(6)SO4 center dot 4H(2)O as precursor is first electro deposited in the Zn(NO3)(2) electrolyte containing K2S2O8 followed by a simple thermal treatment. The effects of some important electrodeposition parameters, such as K2S2O8 concentration, electrodeposition potential and duration, on the morphology of flower-like Zn-4(OH)(6)SO4 center dot 4H(2)O nanosheets are systematically studied. The Zn-4(OH)(6)SO4 center dot 4H(2)O nanosheets could be converted to ZnO porous nanosheets by a simple heat treatment process. The ZnO porous nanosheets still present the flower-like structure and are composed of the ZnO nanocrystals about tens of nanometers in size. For the primary application, the quantum dot-sensitized solar cells based on ZnO porous nanosheets show a promising performance, obviously higher than those based on Zn-4(OH)(6)SO4 center dot 4H(2)O nanosheets. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.