LAUSR

Abstract Biomass derived activated carbon materials are used as an effective adsorbent for heavy metal ions and effectively used as a potential cathode material for supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries due to its hierarchical pore distribution and high surface area. Activated/N-doped activated carbon is derived from Helianthus Annuus seed using chemical activation process. After introducing the heteroatom into the carbon layers, the porosity nature is enhanced, and it is observed from the SEM and TEM images. The synergistic effect of heteroatoms and the uniform distribution of pores in the N-doped activated carbon (NASC) endows to attain the superior specific capacitance (capacity) of 330 F g−1 (226 C g−1) at a current density of 2 A g−1.