Coating the carbon nanotubes: Geometry of incommensurate long-range ordered physisorbed monolayers

The structures of long-range ordered physisorbed monolayer on a carbon nanotube are examined. Geometrical and energetical constraints determining the order of such monolayers are discussed. A number of symmetrically different, strongly bound adsorbate structures is found for Xe adsorbates, some of which differ very little in energy. The presented results suggest that the atomically uniform coating of carbon nanotubes is possible and offer a clear visualization of such coatings.