The effect of milling time on the morphology of graphite is characterized by XRD, SEM, BET, FTIR and XPS and the electrochemical response of the resulting materials upon lithium-ion absorption is analyzed using different techniques. As milling time is increased, the particle size diminishes and the amount of oxygen content increases. Concomitantly, the capacity for lithium adsorption also increases because new adsorption sites become available due to more surface area and oxygen functional groups. These effects are interpreted using first-principles calculations, which show that the presence of oxygenated species promotes lithium adsorption at higher potentials. This capacity increase is probably not relevant for lithium-ion batteries since there is no intercalation process but rather an adsorption one, but may be of interest for supercapacitive applications. Diffusion coefficients of lithium for different graphite particle sizes are evaluated. The effects of diffusion, particle size and oxygen content are discussed. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.