Ba0.85Ca0.15Ti0.9Zr0-1-xCuxO3 (BCTZC) nanopowders were synthesized using a hydrothermal method after which they were pressed into discs and sintered in air at 1300 degrees C for 3 h to form ceramic samples. The phase and microstructure of the powder and ceramic samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The XRD results indicated that the ceramic samples exhibited a tetragonal structure and that CuO, BaZrO3 or CaTiO3 impurity phases, which had been present in the powder samples, were not observed. The average grain sizes in the ceramic samples were found to be 17.0, 16.1, 20.0, 18.1 and 19.6 mu m for Cu mole fractions x of 0.002, 0.004, 0.006, 0.008 and 0.01, respectively. The dielectric constants, ferroelectric hysteresis loops and piezoelectric charge coefficients of the BCZTC ceramic samples were also investigated. Optimum values for the relative dielectric constant (epsilon'), tan delta and piezoelectric charge coefficient (d(33)) of the samples were 3830, 0.03 and 306 pC/N, respectively, in the Cu mole fraction samples with x = 0.002. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.