A kinetic study of homogeneously micelle-catalyzed, hetero-aromatic Nbase (2-picolinic acid, 2,2 0 -bipyridine and 1,10-phenanthroline)-promoted oxidation of 2-propenol by chromium(VI) in sulfuric acid medium was carried out at 303 K. The pseudo first-order rate constant (k obs ) of the oxidation reaction is directly proportional to [H ? ] and [promoters], which indicates that the reaction is first order with respect to H ? and promoters. The reaction was conducted at four different temperatures from which the activation parameters were calculated. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H-NMR) studies were performed to detect the location of reactant molecules in nanometersized micelles. From the observed kinetic results, a suitable mechanism consistent with the rate law has been proposed. The micelles produced a catalytic effect in the entire range of sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS) concentrations used, and the effect is explained by pseudo-phase ion exchange. The combination of 2,2 0 -bipyridine (bipy) and SDS exhibited a 15-fold rate enhancement of Cr(VI) oxidation of 2-propenol to 2-propenal. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (Graphical Abstract Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrum of reaction mixture for the Cr(VI) oxidation of 2-propenol with varying solution colour at different reaction times. Right: Location of reactant molecule in the micellar pseudophase region.