The curing reaction kinetics of the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A-(DGEBA) based epoxy was investigated according to the change of curing agents. Complex curing agents based on Ni(II) and Cu(II) chelates with benzil bisthiosemicarbazone (LH6) as a ligand was studied using differential scanning calorimetry. The curing reaction was characterized by high-activation energies (E-a), cure onset (T-i), and peak maximum (T-p) temperatures. Dynamic kinetic parameters were calculated by using Kissinger and Ozawa methods. For the NiLH6Cl2, CuLH6Cl2, and LH6 the average values of E, were calculated to be 165.1.6, 1.65.92, and 115.75 kJ/mol, respectively. For the NiLH6Cl2 systems, their activation energies at 40 and 30 phr are equal. The T-i and T-p of the DGEBA/NiLH6Cl2 system are lower than those of DGEBA/CuLH6Cl2 system. These results indicate that NiLH6Cl2 has a higher reactivity toward epoxy resin at the beginning of the curing reaction. The effect of hardener concentration, heating rate, and type of metal ion on the cure kinetic parameters and the shape of DSC thermograms were investigated. (C) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.