A colourless oily liquid aromatic amine, C6H5NH2, with an ‘earthy’ smell; r.d. 1.0217; m.p. –6.3°C; b.p. 184.1°C. The compound turns brown on exposure to sunlight. It is basic, forming the phenylammonium (or anilinium) ion, C6H5NH3+, with strong acids. It is manufactured by the reduction of nitrobenzene or by the addition of ammonia to chlorobenzene using a copper(II) salt catalyst at 200°C and 55 atm. The compound is used extensively in the rubber industry and in the manufacture of drugs and dyes.