Butlerov discovered that sugar-like substances are produced when formaldehyde (HCHO) is treated with base . The FR is loosely understood as a base-catalyzed autocatalytic condensation of HCHO to yield a complex mixture of carbohydrates, among other compounds . Breslow and Socha et al. generally explained how a complex product mixture results when carbohydrates containing an ɑ-hydrogen react with HCHO, allowing for concatenated condensation and elimination reactions to occur via various reactions which are promiscuously activated by the reaction conditions. Previous analyses have focused on the formation of low molecular weight molecules, but it is clear the FR, depending on initial conditions, creates a complex set of products, with a wide range of masses.