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

A system for performing molecular assembly, comprising:

• an atomic force microscope (AFM);
• an associated nanofluidic delivery probe;
• 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 fluid onto a surface, 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 a droplet, the system is configured to control a size of the droplet and a shape of the droplet during evaporation to produce a variety of shapes in resulting structures.