Used as a key intermediate in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, particularly in the development of fluorinated active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) where the fluorine atoms enhance metabolic stability and bioavailability. Its structure is valuable in agrochemicals for creating herbicides and insecticides with improved efficacy and environmental persistence. The alcohol functional group allows for easy derivatization, making it useful in building blocks for complex organic molecules. Commonly employed in medicinal chemistry for structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies due to the combined electron-withdrawing effects of fluorine and trifluoromethyl groups, which influence binding affinity and lipophilicity.