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Abstract Carbon dots (CDs) have attracted much attention in a variety of fields owing to the diversified properties. However, the control of the structure and surface function of CDs are still urgent issues to be addressed for using it in specific application. Herein, the reduced state of carbon nanodots (R-CDs) has been produced through a convenient strategy by reduction of the pure carbon dots products, which was utilized as a good candidate of matrix for direct analysis of bisphenol (BP) analogs in negative-ion surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SALDI-TOF MS). Due to the dominant hydroxyl groups on the surface of R-CDs, they were easier to absorb BPs through hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions, resulting in highly efficient detection of BPs. Meanwhile, compared with the organic matrix and raw carbon dots, the superior surface structure and properties of this R-CDs surface provide various advantages including low background noise, outstanding sensitivity and salt tolerance. This work opens a door for developing R-CDs as alternative substrate in SALDI-TOF MS for direct detection of small molecule pollutants. Graphical abstract fx1 Highlights • Reduced carbon nanodots (R-CDs) was used as a novel candidate for detection bisphenol analogs (BPs) in SALDI-TOF MS. • The R-CDs-assisted LDI MS exhibited low background noise, high sensitivity and salt tolerance in analysis of BPs. • This work provides a good alternative substrate to SALDI-TOF MS and expands the CDs’ new application scope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]