Diglycidylether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) was cured with gamma-butyrolactone (gamma-BL) using different lanthanide triflates as catalysts. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to study the different evolutions of the four elemental processes that took place during curing with lanthanum and ytterbium triflates. The greatest differences among the lanthanides were in oxophilicity and Lewis acidity. Differences in the coordination ability of the metal to the monomers were shown and according to the Pearson theory, were related to their different characteristics. Differences in the reactivity of the systems were related to the differences in the Lewis acidity of the initiators. The evolution of the contraction during curing using different lanthanide triflates was monitored by thermomechanical analysis. All systems showed that contraction took place in two stages and that there was an intermediate region, associated with gelation, with no contraction. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.