The holy grail for metal particle combustion is to harness the enormous chemical potential energy stored within metal fuel particles at time scales relevant to a detonation event. Diffusion controlled reactivity limits AI energy release potential but with the advent of nanotechnology and development of nanoparticles, time scales for diffusion-controlled kinetics could approach detonation. In the 15 years we've been studying nanoparticle combustion, we have learned nanoparticles cannot achieve reactivity at detonation time scale by themselves. But, we have transformed the inert alumina passivation shell surrounding the AI core into a highly oxidizer rich salt, called aluminum iodate hexahydrate (AIH) through surface chemistry. The AIH coated AI particles are stable under ambient conditions and improve the detonation velocity of TNT by 30%! Exploiting surface chemistry to harness energy release at faster time scales and promote greater power is a goal of this project. ARO