The production of trichloroacetonitrile by dehydration of trichloroacetamide was first described in 1873 by L. Bisschopinck at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
Trichloroacetonitrile can be obtained by chlorination of acetonitrile on a zinc, copper and alkaline earth metal halide-impregnated activated carbon catalyst at 200–400 °C with a 54% yield.
The high temperatures required by this process favours the formation of byproducts, such as tetrachloromethane. In contrast, the chlorination of acetonitrile saturated with hydrogen chloride leads to pure trichloroacetonitrile even at 50–80 °C in good yields.
Like other halogenated acetonitriles, trichloroacetonitrile is produced from organic substances such as algae, humic acids and proteinaceous material in the disinfecting chlorination of water from natural sources.