It is a white solid although commercial samples often appear gray.
It is a precursor to dyes, agricultural chemicals, and drugs including the antimalarial chlorproguanil and the herbicides propanil, linuron, DCMU, and diuron.
[citation needed] It is produced by hydrogenation of 3,4-dichloronitrobenzene.
[2] Being a precursor to some herbicides, the toxicity and fate of dichloroaniline is of interest.
One pathway for the biodegradation of dichloroaniline is oxidation to the catechol derivatives.