AbstractThe X‐ray K absorption edges of cobalt in some complexes with nitrogen based ligands [α‐Co(py)2Cl2, Co(py)2Br2, Co(bipy)Br2and Co(phen)Br2] have been recorded using a 40 cm bent crystal spectrogrph. The absorption edge shift and edge width have been discussed in terms of effective nuclear charge, molecular symmetry and the nature of the ligand. The radii of the first coordination sphere have been calculated using Levy's method and a correlation sugge