Thermite multilayered films composed of alternating thin layers of metal/oxidizers have various uses in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), microelectronics and materials bonding applications. Recently, applied research especially on the micro-initiator applications has engendered an urgent need to improve ignitability without changing the layering, reactant spacing that both affect the combustion characteristics. This work describes an innovative nano-engineering solution to reduce the energy barriers for mass transport making it possible to substantially lower ignition energy of CuO/Al reactive multilayers without manipulating the fuel and oxide layers thickness. To that end, gold nanoparticles exhibiting high thermal diffusivity properties are in-situ grown uniformly inside the first CuO layer to produce localized hot-spots