Facilitating controlled molecular assembly of nanoscale structures via dynamic confinement of solvent

A method for performing molecular assembly, comprising:

• delivering one or more droplets of a solution onto a surface using a nanofluidic delivery probe;
• wherein the solution comprises a solvent and one or more solute molecules;
• wherein delivery of the one or more droplets onto the surface facilitates evaporation-driven assembly of one or more structures on the surface;
• wherein while delivering a droplet, the method controls a size of the droplet and a shape of the droplet during evaporation;
• wherein the solute is comprised of one or more polymers, including a star polymer [(polystyrene)34-(poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate)40]39;
• and
• wherein the solvent is a mixture of water, ethanol, and glycerol.

A system for performing molecular assembly, comprising:

• an atomic force microscope (AFM);
• a nanofluidic delivery probe;
• and
• a controller, which is configured to control the AFM and associated nanofluidic delivery probe;
• wherein the system is configured to deliver one or more droplets of a solution onto a surface without electrohydrodynamic action, wherein the solution comprises a solvent and one or more solute molecules, and wherein delivery of the one or more droplets onto the surface facilitates evaporation-driven assembly of one or more structures on the surface;
• and
• wherein while delivering each droplet, the system is configured to control a size of the droplet and a shape of the droplet during evaporation, by controlling one or more of:
• a contact angle between the probe and the droplet;
• a delivery pressure for the droplet;
• and
• a delivery time for the droplet.