In this report the photo-physical properties of 9-amino acridine (9AA) associated with αZr-phosphate galleries (αZrP) are examined. In ethanolic solution 9AA exhibits absorption maxima at 425 nm, 402 nm and 383 nm as well as emission bands centered at 455 nm (423 nm excitation) and 483 nm. The corresponding emission decay is monophasic with a lifetime of 16.5 ns. When αZrP is sonicated in the presence of aqueous 9AA the resulting air dried solid material exhibits a broad absorption band centered at ~400 nm with shoulders at ~425 nm and ~385 nm and emission bands at 462 nm and 485 nm (using 423 nm excitation). Interestingly, the emission decay is biphasic with lifetimes of 1.6 ns and 9.8 ns constituting 57% and 43% of the total emission intensity, respectively. The 9AA-αZrP steady state emission spectrum is distinct from either 9AA in solution or within microcrystal lattices. The absence of any shifts in the low angle XPD data suggest that 9AA associates via adsorption onto the exterior surfaces of αZrP galleries. This model is consistent with the biphasic emission lifetimes in which the adsorbed 9AA is likely to have varying degrees of hydrogen bonding resulting in emission lifetimes only slightly quenched relative to 9AA in solution.