Cobalt‐Based Photocatalysis: Recent Advancements in Organic Transformations

Abstract In organic photocatalysis, visible light‐induced cobalt catalysis has become an emerging concept in recent years, leading to the growth of known reactions and the discovery of previously unusual transformations. In contrast to the well‐known dual photocatalysis, which uses an exogenous photosensitiser, a cobalt complex performs two functions in this subfield of photocatalysis by first gathering photon energy and then facilitating bond‐forming/breaking processes primarily via a single electron catalytic cycle. Furthermore, this strategy frequently integrates catalyst‐substrate interaction with photoinduced processes in a synergistic manner, which is unusual in traditional photoredox chemistry. This review details the early stages and most recent developments in this new area of organic transformations.