Microstructure and magnetic properties of NiZn nanowires with controlled Zn ion concentration and off-time between pulses

•Zn content is almost independent of off-time but magnetic properties vary with it.•Wide FORC distribution of alloy nanowires implies Zn substitution in Ni lattice.•A weakly interacting single domain was found for the low Zn content NiZn nanowires.•Annealed samples with higher Zn content showed a multi-domain treatment. Varying the off-time between pulses in electrolyte with different compositions, NixZn1−x (0.73⩽x⩽0.91) nanowire arrays were ac pulse electrodeposited into the porous alumina templates prepared by common two-step anodization technique. The effect of post annealing also was investigated. The influence of deposition parameters on alloy contents was investigated by studying the microstructures and magnetic properties of as-prepared and annealed nanowires. Although Zn content was almost constant with increase in off-time between pulses it remarkably varied the magnetic properties of the samples. X-ray diffractometry of NiZn nanowires showed a face center cubic structure of Ni with a full with half maximum wider than usual Ni nanowires which was shifted towards the low angle confirming Zn substitution in the Ni lattice. Low Zn containing alloy nanowires showed relatively weak interacting single domain system while a pseudo-single domain system was seen for the annealed sample indicating larger magnetic domains with more interaction. Annealed samples with higher Zn content on the other hand showed a multi-domain treatment.