Four probes based in the use of a biphenyl moiety and functionalized with trimethylsilyl benzyl ether (P1 and P3) and oxime (P2 and P4) groups have been prepared and tested as optical probes for the detection of NO 2 .Reaction of NO 2 with acetonitrile solutions of P2-P4 resulted in the formation of aldehydes 7 and 8 with a concomitant redshift of the absorption bands. Probe P2 displayed a bathochromic shift of 45 nm upon reaction with NO 2 and was able to detect this poisonous gas at concentrations as low as 0.02 ppm. P2 was highly selective against NO 2 and other gases (i.e. NO, CO 2 , H 2 S, SO 2 ) and vapours of organic solvents (i.e. acetone, hexane, chloroform, acetonitrile or toluene) had no effect in the optical properties of the probe.