a composition of a crystalline ferromagnetic material based upon nanoscale cobalt carbide particles and to a method of manufacturing the ferromagnetic material of the invention via a polyol reaction are disclosed . the crystalline ferromagnetic cobalt carbide nanoparticles of the invention are useful for high performance permanent magnet applications . the processes according to the invention are extendable to other carbide phases , for example to fe -, feco - carbides . fe - and feco - carbides are realizable by using as precursor salts fe -, co -, and mixtures of fe - and co - salts , such as acetates , nitrates , chlorides , bromides , citrates , and sulfates , among others . the materials according to the invention include mixtures and / or admixtures of cobalt carbides , as both co 2 c and co 3 c phases . mixtures may take the form of a collection of independent particles of co 2 c and co 3 c or as a collection of particles which consist of an intimate combination of co 2 c and co 3 c phases within individual particles . the relative proportions of these two phases as well as the morphology of each phase contribute to their attractive permanent magnet properties , particularly at low temperatures through room temperature and up to over 400 k .