Used as an intermediate in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, particularly in the development of antitumor and antimicrobial agents. It serves as a building block in the preparation of substituted pyridines, which are important in medicinal chemistry. Also employed in the production of agrochemicals, including certain herbicides and pesticides, due to its reactivity in nucleophilic substitution reactions. Its nitro and chloro functional groups allow for sequential derivatization, making it valuable in multi-step organic synthesis.