TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - CERAMICS AND GLASS - Preferred Materials: The spacers may comprise glass.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ELECTRICAL POWER AND ENERGY - Preferred Components: The first and second electrodes are mesh electrodes. The spacers prevent contact between the first electrode and the photoactive material when the photovoltaic cell is wrapped around a cylinder having a radius of less than or equal to 1 inch. The spacers are in contact with surfaces of first and second electrodes. The spacers are in the shape of cones, cylinders, pyramids, cubes, rods, sheets, squares, circles, semicircles, triangles, diamonds, ellipses, trapezoids, and/or irregular shapes, preferably spheres. The spacers may be transparent or opaque. The photovoltaic cell may comprise a charge carrier layer (140) between the photoactive material and the second electrode, and the spacers are partially disposed in the charge carrier layer.Preferred Dimensions: The spheres have an average diameter of 1-50 microns.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Materials: The photoactive material is titania. The photoactive material comprises photoactive nanoparticle material, e.g. titanium dioxide, strontium titanate, calcium titanate, zirconium oxide, tungsten oxide, lanthanum oxide, niobium pentoxide, tin dioxide, sodium titanate, cadmium selenide (CdSe), cadmium sulfide, and/or potassium niobate. The photoactive material may contain electron acceptor material, e.g. inorganic nanoparticle, carbon nanorod, carbon nanotube, or inorganic nanorod; and electron donor material.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - METALLURGY - Preferred Materials: At least one of the first and second electrodes comprises electrically conductive material, e.g. copper, aluminum, indium, gold, palladium, titanium, platinum, stainless steel, indium tin oxide, tin oxide, and/or fluorine-doped tin oxide.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Materials: The photoactive material is titania. The photoactive material comprises photoactive nanoparticle material, e.g. titanium dioxide, strontium titanate, calcium titanate, zirconium oxide, tungsten oxide, lanthanum oxide, niobium pentoxide, tin dioxide, sodium titanate, cadmium selenide (CdSe), cadmium sulfide, and/or potassium niobate. The photoactive material may contain electron acceptor material, e.g. inorganic nanoparticle, carbon nanorod, carbon nanotube, or inorganic nanorod; and electron donor material.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Materials: The electron acceptor material is fullerene, organic nanoparticle, oxadiazole, polyoxadiazol, discotic liquid crystal, or preferably substituted fullerene. The photoactive nanoparticle material further comprises a dye.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - POLYMERS - Preferred Materials: The electron acceptor material may be polymer containing cyano groups and/or polymer containing trifluoromethyl groups. The electron donor material is discotic liquid crystal, polythiophene, polyphenylene, polyphenylvinylene, polysilane, polythienylvinylene, polyisothianaphthalene, or poly-3-hexylthiophene. The spacers comprise electrically insulating material, e.g. resin, and crosslinking agent capable of linking to the photoactive material. The crosslinking agent is titania crosslinking agent, preferably Ti(O-Alkyl)4 or its polymer.