The present disclosure is related to a method of fabricating a stacked nanographene structure which is assembled into quantum wires or ribbons. While it has been demonstrated that nanowires can be fabricated from various raw carbon materials including PAHs, research and industry has not produced a self-assembled nanowire produced from asphaltene materials that exhibits a metallic character and electronic structure. The following methods and materials can be used to produce new class of materials consisting of a self-assembled quantum wire out of asphaltene.