In this study, we examined the effect of potassium perchlorate (KClO4) and magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)(2)) additives on the combustion behavior of a ZrO2 + 2Mg mixture to produce a fine powder of zirconium metal. The results of thermodynamic analysis and experiments imply that nearly 0.04 mol of KCIO4 is needed to initiate a combustion reaction in the ZrO2 + 2Mg system. As the amount of KCIO4 increases from 0.04 to 0.1 mol, the combustion temperature increases from 1250 to 1850 degrees C. This results in formation of fine zirconium powder with a typical particle size of less than 5 mu m, and with 1.4-2.2 wt% residual oxygen. Subsequent reduction of particle size to 100-500 nm, and oxygen content to <1.0 wt% was achieved by adding Mg(OH)(2). The as-prepared Zr powder was mixed with nitrocellulose and printed onto 10-100 mu m thin-layers to study their burning stability. The wave propagation in a thin layer was on the order of 0.35-30 cm/s, which is suitable for applications requiring localized power generation. (C) 2017 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.