[3][4] Diafenthiuron is an phenol ether of molecular weight 384.6 g/mole and containing two 6-carbon rings attached to an oxygen and nitrilo (tert-butylcarbamate) group substituting for a hydrogen atom at position 2.

It is highly soluble in multiple organic solvents however dissolves poorly in aqueous solutions due to the hydrocarbon rich regions and oxygen atom which do not form H bonds with water molecules.

Its lack of water solubility (partition coefficient logPow = 5.76) and strong sorption capacity, means it has the ability to accumulate persistently in aquatic and soil systems.

[2] It is a broad spectrum, both systemic and contact as well as stomach activity synthetic pesticide impairing mitochondrial function in target pests (phytophagous mites).

[14] Due to aerial application of the pesticide, its entering into fresh water bodies has observable effects on non-target organisms.

Sub lethal doses (0.0075 mg/L) in both short and long term application had significant adverse effects on serum, hematological and elemental concentrations of fish which suggests that the use of diafenthiuron as a pesticide threatens the stability of aquatic food webs.

Rapid photodegradation of diafenthiuron and its metabolites in water and soil suggests limited accumulation capacity, despite the bioaccumulation potential of ~800.

However, a pond mesocosm study did not exhibit such effects in vivo, possibly due to the rapid time period needed for degradation of 50% of the product (DT50) being <22 hours.