Structural Chemistry
Structural chemistry is a branch of chemistry that studies the spatial structures of molecules and solids (in their gaseous, liquid, or solid states) (with extended structures that cannot be subdivided into molecules).
The major challenges are to (a) formulate basic laws for structure-property interactions and (b) derive general guidelines for how the chemical and physical properties of matter constituents determine the structures that result (e.g., the relationship between the symmetry of the resulting crystal lattice and the electron configuration of the crystal building blocks).