The luminescence quenching of tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) (Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)) by 2-, 3-, and 4-nitrophenol (NO2PhOH), in their protonated forms, has been studied by static and time-resolved techniques in water and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) aqueous solution. In water, the bimolecular rate constants were obtained separately from both techniques and they were coincident. The values were close to the diffusional limit. In the presence of SDS micelles at a fixed detergent concentration, the Stern-Volmer plots of tau(0)/tau vs quencher total concentration ([Q](t)) were linear in the whole range of [Q](t) used. However, the Stern-Volmer plots of the ratio I-0/I vs [Q](t) in SDS micelles showed an upward deviating curve. From these plots of I-0/I, the concentrations of the NO(2)PhOHs in the micellar pseudophase were measured. The treatment of the data of both types of measurements let us determine the association constants (K) of the NO(2)PhOHs to SDS micelles and the exit (k(-)) and entrance (k(+)) rate constants of NO2-PhOHs to the micelles. The K values obtained from either static or time-resolved luminescence techniques were in agreement within experimental error. An electron-transfer mechanism was also proposed for the quenching reaction of the excited state Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) by nitrophenols in which the metallic complex is oxidized.