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Coinage-metal atomically precise nanoclusters are made of a well-defined metallic core embedded in a ligand-protecting outer shell. Whereas gold derivatives are particularly well documented, examples of silver nanoclusters are somewhat limited and copper species remain particularly scare. Our DFT relativistic calculations on superatomic metallic cores indicate that copper species are almost as stable as gold clusters and more stable than their silver counterparts. Thus, for silver superatomic cores, the role of the stabilizing ligands is more crucial in the stabilization of the overall structure, in comparison to copper and gold. Hence, the chemistry of the earlier counterparts of gold, especially copper, should grow quickly with at least characterizations of species related to that found in the heavier elements in the triad, which requires tackling synthetic challenges. Time-dependent (TD)-DFT calculations show that with an increase of the cluster core nuclearity, the absorption bands are redshifted, allowing us to differentiate between the clusters types. Moreover, the optical properties of the silver cores are fairly different from that of their Cu and Au relatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attempts to expand the versatility of well defined clusters are a relevant issue in the design of building blocks for functional nanostructures. Here, we investigate the plausible formation of related structures from the emblematic highly symmetrical 18‐e [W@Au12] cluster. The calculated [W@Au12Ptn] series, with n = 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, show cohesion energies, HOMO‐LUMO gap, adiabatic electron affinities (AEAs) and adiabatic ionization potentials (AIPs), indicating a relative stability to the parent cluster [W@Au12] experimentally characterized, where clusters with n = 1 and n = 4 are suggested as the most stable with respect to oxidation. The resulting symmetry lowering away from the high icosahedral symmetry upon adding Pt atoms induces a sizable splitting of the frontiers shells, which in turn effectively modify the properties of the calculated clusters, as observed from calculated optical properties. The estimated absorption spectra show an interesting broadening effect of the absorption peaks, which appears as a useful approach for further design of broad black absorbers, which are able to absorb light in a wider range, with potential capabilities to enhance the efficiency of thin film solar cells and photocatalysis processes, among other applications. Cage doping induces structural modifications along the isoelectronic series given by W@Au12Ptn (n = 0‐4) superatomic clusters, highlight the role of symmetry changes in optical and energetic properties. Such changes are related to interesting broadening effect of the absorption peaks, which can be taken into account in the design of improved broad black‐absorbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]