Facile synthesis and magnetic properties of Fe3C/C nanoparticles via a sol–gel process

•Fe3C/C nanoparticles were synthesized by a sol–gel method.•Their structure and magnetic properties are researched.•It is shown that there are better magnetic properties for the nanocomposites.

The Fe3C/C nanoparticles were synthesized via a facile sol–gel method. Their structural and magnetic properties are researched through calcination temperature and heating rate. There are saturation magnetization (26.9–62.8 emu g−1), remanent magnetization and coercivity of Fe3C/C nanoparticles, and the highly magnetic nanoparticles described in this article have numerous potential applications in electrochemistry and catalysis.