2,4,5-Trichloroaniline
2,4,5-Trichloroaniline carries three chlorines around the ring, leaving an aniline that is strongly deactivated toward further electrophilic chemistry but retains a straightforward, diazotisable amine. That combination has made it a long-standing intermediate for herbicide, antimicrobial and dye chemistry, most notably as the historical precursor to the phenoxy herbicide 2,4,5-T.
Chelora Chemicals supplies 2,4,5-TCA to agrochemical producers, dye and pigment manufacturers and fine chemical plants worldwide, in bags and drums, with a batch COA and GHS safety data sheet on every consignment.
Product identity
- CAS Number
- 636-30-6
- IUPAC name
- 2,4,5-Trichloroaniline
- Molecular formula
- C6H4Cl3N
- Molecular weight
- 196.46 g/mol
- EC / EINECS
- 211-254-9
- MDL number
- MFCD00007662
- SMILES
- Nc1cc(Cl)c(Cl)cc1Cl
- HS Code
- 2921 42*
* Confirm the exact HS heading with your customs broker — classification of polychlorinated aniline derivatives varies between destination tariffs.
What 2,4,5-Trichloroaniline is used for
2,4,5-Trichloroaniline is an aniline with chlorine at three of the five available ring positions. That level of chlorination pulls electron density hard out of the ring and out of the nitrogen, giving a weakly basic amine on an aromatic system that resists most electrophilic chemistry. What survives is a well-behaved diazotisable nitrogen — and a compound whose historical significance in agrochemical chemistry is hard to overstate.
For decades this was the key intermediate in the manufacture of 2,4,5-T, one of the two phenoxy herbicides in the "Agent Orange" mixture, and it remains an intermediate for the antimicrobial and antiseptic chemistry related to triclosan and hexachlorophene-type compounds, as well as a coupling component in dye and pigment synthesis.
A note on legacy and current use
Because of its historical association with 2,4,5-T, buyers sometimes ask about this compound's regulatory status directly. 2,4,5-T itself has been withdrawn or restricted in many jurisdictions, largely over dioxin contamination in poorly controlled historic manufacturing processes rather than a property of 2,4,5-TCA itself — but the history means this material warrants particular attention to end-use declaration and destination regulatory status. Ask us early, and we will check the position for your specific country and application before quoting.
Why the isomer matters
Trichloroaniline isomers are distinct compounds and the position of the three chlorines determines the entire downstream chemistry:
- 2,4,5-Trichloroaniline (CAS 636-30-6) — this product. The historically significant isomer, precursor to 2,4,5-T.
- 2,4,6-Trichloroaniline (CAS 634-93-5) — both ortho positions and the para position chlorinated, a different steric and electronic profile.
- 3,4,5-Trichloroaniline (CAS 634-91-3) — chlorines symmetric about the para position, used in different antimicrobial and dye routes.
Quote us the CAS number and we will confirm the correct material before the order is placed. We supply related chlorinated anilines as well — see the full intermediate range.
Appearance and handling character
2,4,5-TCA ships as a white to almost-white crystalline powder or solid melting around 93–97 °C — comfortably above ambient temperature, so it remains a stable solid through ordinary storage and transport. It is slightly soluble in water and readily soluble in ethanol and methanol. Like other aromatic amines it is air-sensitive, with suppliers recommending storage under inert gas in a cool, dark place to limit colour drift.
| Parameter | Typical value |
|---|---|
| Appearance | White to almost-white powder / crystal |
| Assay (GC) | 98.0% min |
| Melting range | 93 – 97 °C |
| Moisture | Reported per batch |
| Isomeric impurities | Reported per batch |
| Insolubles / residue | Reported per batch |
Important: the figures above are indicative of commercial grade material and are offered for planning only. The batch certificate of analysis is the governing document. If your process demands a tighter assay, a specific isomer limit or a controlled moisture figure, send us the specification and we will quote against it rather than against a generic grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Physical state | Crystalline solid at ambient |
| Melting point | ≈ 93 – 97 °C |
| Boiling point | ≈ 262 °C @ 760 mmHg |
| Water solubility | Slightly soluble |
| Organic solubility | Soluble in ethanol, methanol |
| Stability | Air sensitive; store under inert gas |
| Amine character | Weakly basic; diazotisable |
Physical constants compiled from public reference data for CAS 636-30-6 and rounded for readability. Treat them as orientation, not as a specification.
Where our customers put this molecule to work
2,4,5-TCA's volume today is spread across dye, pigment, antimicrobial and specialty agrochemical synthesis rather than concentrated in a single dominant outlet.
Dye & pigment intermediates
Diazotised and coupled as a component in azo chemistry, where the three chlorines deepen shade and improve fastness relative to less-chlorinated anilines. A steady, well-established outlet.
- Azo diazo component
- Shade and fastness modification
- Colour ceiling worth specifying
Antimicrobial & antiseptic chemistry
Trichlorinated anilines feed carbanilide and related antimicrobial chemistry, where the heavy chlorine substitution contributes to the biological activity and persistence of the finished compound.
- Carbanilide and urea antimicrobial synthesis
- Tight isomer limits usually apply
- See also related chloroaniline range
Specialty agrochemical chemistry
Beyond its historical role as a 2,4,5-T precursor, the trichlorophenyl fragment continues to appear in specialty agrochemical intermediates and custom synthesis where heavy chlorination is a deliberate design choice.
- Custom active-ingredient intermediates
- Regulatory status confirmed before quoting
- See our agrochemical intermediate range
Pharmaceutical & fine chemicals
A well-characterised, chemically quiet aryl amine building block for amide and urea formation where a heavily chlorinated aromatic fragment is needed and the ring's reduced reactivity is an advantage rather than a limitation.
- Amide and urea formation
- Controlled, low-side-reaction chemistry
- Available in trial and laboratory quantities
Research & reference synthesis
A well-documented, stable compound used for method development and reference work in laboratories studying chlorinated aromatic amine chemistry and its environmental behaviour.
- Reference and analytical quantities
- Small pack sizes from laboratory scale
- Full analytical documentation available
Contract & scheduled supply
Colour and specialty chemical plants run campaigns rather than continuous single-product output. Most 2,4,5-TCA buyers want tonnage released against a production plan rather than in one shipment. We hold inventory and release it to your schedule.
- Annual contracts with scheduled call-off
- Price held across the contract period
- Second source held in reserve
How we supply 2,4,5-Trichloroaniline
Chelora Chemicals is a supplier and sourcing partner, not a manufacturer. We own no chloroaniline plant — and for a compound with the regulatory history this one carries, that independence lets us confirm the destination position honestly rather than simply shipping and hoping.
We place your order with whichever qualified producer best matches your assay, your isomer tolerance, your documentation requirements and your delivery window.
We keep a second qualified source on this line. When a plant goes down for maintenance, or a monsoon disrupts a road corridor, your campaign switches source rather than stalling.
- Specification read against the CAS first. We confirm you need 636-30-6 and not the 2,4,6- or 3,4,5-trichloro isomer before we quote a price.
- Destination status checked before quoting. Given this compound's history, we confirm the regulatory position for your country and end use before the order is placed, not after.
- Batch COA shared before dispatch. You approve the assay, moisture and impurity profile against your own spec while the material is still in our warehouse.
- Pre-shipment samples for qualification. New account or new source, your laboratory runs a coupling trial before the full quantity ever moves.
- Export machinery handled in-house. Hazard classification, UN-approved packing, labelling, freight booking and customs paperwork are ours to manage.
- Consolidation onto one bill of lading. Ship 2,4,5-TCA alongside other intermediates from our range — one invoice, one shipment, one counterparty.
Packed the way your plant receives it
Pack format drives your landed cost and your handling effort. Tell us how the material will be charged at your end and we will quote the format that suits your operation.
Multi-wall paper & PE bags
Laminated multi-wall bags with an inner liner, palletised and shrink-wrapped. The default for LCL movements and for plants charging batch-wise by hand.
Fibre & HDPE drums
UN-certified drums with liner for longer sea transits and humid destinations. Better protection against moisture pick-up and air ingress than bagged material.
Jumbo / FIBC bags
Bulk bags with liner for high-volume users with mechanical charging. Fewer handling movements and materially lower packing cost per kilo.
Samples & trial packs
Laboratory samples and pilot quantities dispatched by courier so your R&D or colour laboratory can qualify the grade before committing to campaign volume.
Incoterms to suit you
Quoted on the Incoterm your purchasing team works to. Ocean, air and road freight arranged end-to-end with documentation filed before booking.
Campaign despatch
We hold contracted tonnage and release it against your production calendar instead of landing it all at once.
Handle this as a toxic, absorbable amine
2,4,5-TCA is toxic by all three routes of exposure, and there is a possible organ-toxicity entry for prolonged or repeated exposure in widely published classifications. Like other chloroanilines it should be treated as skin-absorbable. The summary below is orientation only — the safety data sheet supplied with your consignment is the authoritative document and should govern your risk assessment, PPE selection and emergency planning.
Classified hazards
H301Toxic if swallowed.H311Toxic in contact with skin.H331Toxic if inhaled.H373May cause organ damage through prolonged or repeated exposure.H411Toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.
Hazard statements reflect the GHS classification commonly published for CAS 636-30-6. Supplier classifications may differ in detail; always read the SDS issued with your specific batch.
Spill & emergency orientation
Plan your response before the pallet arrives, not after a bag splits. The points below are orientation for your emergency planners — sections 4, 5 and 6 of the SDS are the authoritative instructions and should be posted at the point of use.
- Sweep, do not hose. The material is toxic to aquatic life. Collect spilled solid mechanically into a labelled container; never wash it to a drain.
- Suppress dust. Dry sweeping of a fine solid generates an inhalable aerosol — use vacuum collection or dampen carefully in line with the SDS.
- Assume skin absorption. Contaminated clothing is a continuing exposure route — remove it immediately and wash the skin thoroughly.
- Have the SDS with the casualty. Chloroanilines can cause methaemoglobinaemia, and the treating clinician needs the product identity and CAS number in hand.
- Dispose as regulated waste through a licensed contractor, in line with your local chemical waste regulations.
Storage
- Cool, dry, well-ventilated store, away from direct sunlight and heat sources.
- Keep containers tightly closed and, where possible, under inert gas. Air and light drive the colour drift typical of aromatic amines.
- Segregate from oxidising agents, strong acids and acid chlorides. As a primary aromatic amine it reacts exothermically with acylating and oxidising reagents.
- Bunded, sealed-floor storage. The compound is toxic to aquatic life — containment matters more than dilution in a spill scenario.
- Shelf life is typically 12–24 months in sealed original packing under these conditions. Re-assay before use after long storage.
Handling & PPE
- Skin protection is the priority. Chloroanilines are absorbed through intact skin — chemical-resistant gloves and coveralls, not just splash protection.
- Engineering controls first. Charge under local exhaust ventilation or in a closed transfer system; the faint odour gives little useful warning of exposure.
- Respiratory protection where dust may be generated, per your own exposure assessment.
- Eye protection and an accessible eyewash and safety shower at all charging points.
- Never discharge to drain or watercourse. H411 applies — collect spills as solid waste and dispose of them as regulated chemical waste.
Transport
2,4,5-TCA moves as regulated cargo (UN 2811). We classify each consignment, apply UN-approved packaging and labelling, and file the dangerous-goods declaration before the booking is made. The applicable class and packing group are stated on your shipping documents and SDS — ask us for the current DG paperwork when you plan the shipment.
What travels with every consignment
A chemical shipment is only as good as the file that travels with it. Verifying what the source plant sends is precisely the work you are buying from a supplier.
Certificate of Analysis
Batch-specific assay by GC, appearance, melting range and impurity profile — checked against your purchase specification before we release the goods.
GHS Safety Data Sheet
Full 16-section SDS in GHS format covering hazards, exposure controls, handling, storage, spill response, toxicology and disposal — issued in the language your destination requires.
Dangerous Goods Declaration
UN number, hazard class, packing group and IMDG or IATA declaration prepared and filed before the container is booked, with correctly marked and labelled packaging.
Certificate of Origin
Chamber-attested where required, plus preferential-origin forms where a trade agreement gives your import duty relief at the destination.
End-use declaration
Given this compound's regulatory history, we can provide an end-use declaration where your customs authority requires confirmation of the intended downstream application.
Retained & pre-shipment samples
Pre-shipment samples carry the same COA as the commercial lot, so what your laboratory qualifies is exactly what arrives. Retention samples held against the batch.
A heavily chlorinated aniline that still couples
Understanding what survives and what does not on a trichlorinated ring explains why this compound remains useful despite its deactivated state. The routes below are the general industrial pattern, not a process disclosure.
Start with the trichlorinated ring
Three chlorines withdraw electron density hard, leaving a weakly basic, well-behaved amine and a ring that resists most electrophilic side reactions.
Diazotise
Sodium nitrite in acid at low temperature still converts the amine to the diazonium salt, though typically needing more careful control than on a less deactivated aniline.
Couple or derivatise
The diazonium salt is coupled onto a naphthol for colour work, or the amine is acylated or condensed into antimicrobial and specialty active-ingredient chemistry.
Purify and finish
The product is purified to the specification the end market demands — shade target, biological activity or a defined impurity profile.
Why aniline quality carries through the whole route
Every downstream step acts on the nitrogen. Anything in the feed that competes for that nitrogen, or carries its own reactive functionality, follows the material down the line:
- Isomeric trichloroanilines react in parallel and produce structurally similar by-products that are difficult and expensive to separate from the finished product.
- Residual water hydrolyses acylating reagents, wasting expensive material and generating acid in the batch.
- Oxidation products — the coloured species behind aniline colour drift — can carry into the finished product.
- Heavy residues concentrate in still bottoms and reduce the number of passes a distillation or crystallisation train delivers.
That chain of consequences is the reason we quote against your written specification rather than a generic "technical" grade, and the reason the batch COA is shared for approval before dispatch rather than sent with the invoice.
| Isomer | Typical use |
|---|---|
| 2,4,5-Trichloroaniline CAS 636-30-6 — this product | Dye & antimicrobial chemistry Historical 2,4,5-T precursor |
| 2,4,6-Trichloroaniline CAS 634-93-5 | Different steric profile Specialty synthesis |
| 3,4,5-Trichloroaniline CAS 634-91-3 | Antimicrobial & dye chemistry Symmetric substitution |
If your route calls for a different isomer, we supply those as well — see the full intermediate range. Send the CAS number and we will confirm the correct material before quoting.
What actually moves the price of this intermediate
2,4,5-TCA is not a commodity with a screen price. Knowing what drives the quote helps you time a purchase and read whether an offer is realistic.
Upstream feedstock
The route back to 2,4,5-TCA runs through chlorinated benzenes and the nitration– reduction chain. Movements in benzene, chlorine and hydrogen feed through within a quarter or so.
- Chlorine and benzene set the floor
- Energy cost weighs on distillation
- We flag feedstock-driven moves in the quote
Producer base
Fewer plants make this heavily chlorinated aniline than make the mono- or dichloro members of the family, so availability moves faster on a single turnaround.
- We hold a second qualified source on this line
- Qualify the alternate before you need it
- Ask us about dual-source contracts
Specification tier
Colour-grade material with a tight isomer limit prices above a general technical grade. Paying for a spec you do not need is a common and avoidable cost.
- Tell us the end use, not just the purity
- We will say when a tighter spec is unnecessary
- Isomer limit matters most on colour routes
Regulatory and documentation cost
Given the historical association with 2,4,5-T, some destinations require end-use declarations or additional paperwork before clearance. That handling cost sits inside the price on this product more than on most others in our range.
- We check the destination position before quoting
- End-use declaration provided where required
- Cheaper to plan for than to remediate at customs
Freight & DG surcharges
This is regulated cargo, so ocean freight carries a hazardous surcharge and space is tighter than for general cargo. Destination and Incoterm move landed cost as much as the ex-works price does.
- Compare on landed cost, not ex-works
- DG space books out ahead of peak season
- We quote FOB, CIF, CFR or DDP as you prefer
Pack format
Cost per kilo falls from 25 kg bags to drums to jumbo bags. If your charging system can take a bulk bag, the saving over a campaign usually dwarfs the handling change.
- Small bags carry the highest packing cost
- FIBC is cheapest per kilo at volume
- Disposal of packing is a hidden cost at your end
| If your end use is… | Specify |
|---|---|
| Dye & pigment coupling | Colour ceiling, tight isomer limit, low insolubles |
| Antimicrobial chemistry | High assay with tight isomer and residue limits |
| Specialty agro intermediates | High assay; end-use declaration confirmed early |
| Pharmaceutical / fine chemicals | Tight isomer limit; metals and residues reported |
| Laboratory / R&D | Small pack, high purity, full analytical pack |
Not sure which column you are in? Describe the reaction you are running and our technical desk will recommend the grade — including telling you when a cheaper specification would do the job just as well.
Support that goes beyond shipping the bag
What our technical desk will do
- Match a grade to your reaction. Tell us the step you are running and we will recommend the specification — and say so plainly when a tighter, costlier grade would add nothing.
- Check destination status before you commit. Given the compound's history, we confirm the regulatory position for your country and application before quoting rather than leaving it for customs to discover.
- Advise on handling and storage for your site conditions and end use.
- Review your specification before it goes into a contract, so you are not locked into a limit that no plant can consistently hit.
Regulatory & compliance notes
- End-use declarations. Because of its historical association with 2,4,5-T, some jurisdictions expect confirmation of the intended downstream application before clearance. We provide this where required.
- Import controls vary by destination. We check the destination rules before quoting, not after you have raised the PO.
- Chemical inventory listings differ between regions. Confirm your obligations under the applicable inventory regime for your import volume — we will supply the identity data you need for that filing.
- Dangerous goods documentation is prepared by our export desk and filed before booking, so the consignment is not held at origin for paperwork.
None of the above is legal advice — your own regulatory affairs team owns the final compliance position for your import. What we commit to is giving you accurate product identity data and complete documentation to work from.
From enquiry to delivered pallet
Send the specification
Product name or CAS 636-30-6, intended end use, the assay and impurity limits you work to, quantity, pack preference and destination port.
Receive a firm quote
Pricing, lead time, packing, regulatory position and Incoterm confirmed in writing within 24 hours — our sourcing desk is staffed around the clock.
Qualify and approve
Sample dispatched if you are qualifying a new source. Batch COA shared for your approval before the material is released.
Ship and track
DG classification and end-use documentation filed, freight booked, and the consignment tracked through transit and clearance to your plant.
What buyers ask us about 2,4,5-Trichloroaniline
Is this material restricted because of its link to 2,4,5-T?
Can I substitute another trichloroaniline isomer?
What purity do you normally supply?
What is the minimum order quantity?
How long does delivery take?
Why does the material darken in storage?
How should we store it, and what is the shelf life?
Is this a dangerous good? What paperwork comes with it?
- Batch certificate of analysis
- GHS-format safety data sheet
- Dangerous-goods declaration with UN number, class and packing group
- Commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading or airway bill
- Certificate of origin and, where required, an end-use declaration
Do you supply to my country?
Do you manufacture this yourself?
Can you hold stock against a production plan?
Request pricing on 2,4,5-Trichloroaniline
Send your required assay, intended end use, quantity, pack format and destination port. Our sourcing desk is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and comes back with pricing, lead time, regulatory position and packing options.