Recent Advances in Transition Metal-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions Directly Promoted by Visible Light

Over the last decades, the transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions have become powerful organic synthetic methods for forming carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds. Very recently, the introduction of visible light into transition metal catalysis opened a new avenue for achieving novel, highly enabling cross-coupling reactions that otherwise were elusive. This type of reaction has received extensive attention due to its simple, mild conditions and no need of photocatalyst. Based on the classification of transition metals, the research progress of transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions directly promoted by visible light is reviewed.