Commercial carbon fibres were pyrolyzed up to 1000 degrees C and were then electrochemically treated by cyclic voltammetry in aqueous electrolyte solutions of H2SO4, in two potential sweep ranges: a narrow region, N, and a wide region, W, avoiding and including water decomposition, respectively. The anodic and cathodic peaks were correlated with oxide formation and their partial reduction, respectively. The nature of oxygen containing groups on the fibre surfaces was determined by XPS. Wide scan spectra and high energy resolution spectra were recorded through the C 1s, O 1s, N 1s and S 2p photoelectron regions. The ability of the fibres to adsorb methylene blue and alizarin yellow dyes from their aqueous solutions indicates the presence of electron acceptor or donor groups on the fibres, respectively. The carbon fibres were classified into two categories. The first includes electrochemically untreated and treated in the N region, and the second those treated in the W region. The high oxygen concentration and effective dye adsorption on the carbon fibres in the second category indicates that their surfaces were effectively modified. The adsorption of dyes on carbon fibres constitutes a complementary method to XPS for an indirect estimation of oxygen and other groups present on the carbon fibre surfaces. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.