Materials Chemistry: involves the use of chemistry for the design and synthesis of materials with interesting or potentially useful physical characteristics, such as magnetic, optical, structural or catalytic properties. It also involves the characterization, processing and molecular-level understanding of these substances. Materials Chemistry largely involves the study of chemistry of condensed phases (solids, liquids, polymers) and interfaces between different phases. Because many of these materials have direct technological applications, materials chemistry has a strong link between basic science and many existing and newly-emerging technologies.