In this research work, significance of activation energy in establishment of a chemical covalent bonding during the flow Sisko fluid over a porous curved moving surface is investigated. The Buongiorno nanofluid model is further considered to incorporate the importance of Brownian motion and thermophoretic analysis of nanoparticles. Additionally, magnetic field and heat source/sink effects are also discussed in the flow and heat transfer phenomena. Appropriate transformations are used to convert nonlinear PDEs to ODEs. Impacts of all physical parameters are illustrated in the form of graphs and tables. The resistance opposed to the flow and rate of heat transfer are measured with the help of local skin friction and Nusselt number relations, respectively. Fabulous outcomes obtained and are further compared with existing literature and found correctly. Continuing the process of validation of present results, an important different technique namely Richardson's extrapolation in Maple software is used to test the accuracy of the entire numerical scheme which is followed for the present investigation. The results are well correlated with each other. For the higher values of curvature parameter, the velocity of pseudo plastic fluid enhances while the temperature profile noticed with opposite trend. Growing values of suction parameter enhance the resistive forces and reducing the velocity of the Sisko fluid flow. However, the heat source/sink parameter escalates the rate of heat transfer and temperature profile for pseudo plastic fluid. Moreover, the concentration profile of pseudo plastic fluid is found an increasing function of activation energy parameter. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC.