During the past few years, significant progress has been made in research of the formation of nanopowders and their application in both civilian and military sectors. One example of such an application is the development of nanoscale energetic materials. This paper presents the recent experimental studies of ultra-fast reactions between nanosized aluminum and various metal oxides, including WO3, MoO3, CuO, and Fe2O3 under unconfined conditions. Combustion front velocity in Al-CuO system is strongly affected by the presence of surface functional coating, which significantly improves dispersion and mixing of nanoreactants and, in low concentration, increases the combustion front velocity. Measurements of dynamic pressure responses in Al-CuO reacting system have shown that ignition delay time is a function of the amount and type of functional surface coating. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.