Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and advanced isoconversional kinetic analysis were used to study the curing reaction of diglycidyl ether of 4,4'-bisphenol A (DGEBA) epoxy monomer with an aromatic amine, 4-nitro-1,2-phenylenediamine (4-NPDA). The first DSC exothermic peak was assigned to the curing process of DGEBA with 4-NPDA. Kinetic analysis suggested that the effective activation energy for the cure process decreases from approximate to 120 to a practically constant value approximate to 60 kJ mol(-1). This system was compared with diglycidyl ether of 4,4-bisphenol (DGEBP)/4-NPDA. DGEBA/4-NPDA system shows higher reaction temperature, lower reaction rate and lower glass transition temperature under the same cure condition. This can be explained by stereochemical structure of epoxy monomer and the effect of conjugation. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.