The physical and photophysical properties of 6-phenanthridinecarbonitrile (1) have been examined. We previously reported that when 1 is irradiated in aqueous 2-propanol, three products are formed [3]. These include dimethyl-6-phenanthridinylcarbinol (2), phenanthridine (3) and 6,6'-biphenanthridine (4). Phenanthridinyl radical is formed in neutral media by hydrogen atom abstraction from an alcohol molecule by an excited state of 1 in a monophotonic process. The presents of acid effectively quenches all photochemical behavior. These products may all be explained assuming in-cage and out-of-cage reactions. The free spin value, g e , was determined at 125 K and found to be 2.0043 which is close to the theoretical value for that of a free electron. The total emission spectrum of 1 at 77 K shows a fluorescence maximum at 378 nm and a much weaker phosphorescence maximum at 502 nm which represented less than 3% of the total emission. When benzophenone is added to the reaction mixture, the triplet state of 1 is populated, but photosensitized product formation does not occur. The result supports a singlet reactive state. When cis/transpiperylene is added to the reaction mixtures, it quenches the fluorescence of 1. The fluorescence quantum yield (Φ f ) was found to be 0.227 in neat 2-propanol. The addition of water causes an increase in Φ f and a decrease in the Pk a of the medium. The excited state lifetime (τ) was determined in neat 2-propanol, using oxygen quenching, and found to be 3.4 ns. This number increased with increasing water concentration. The photoreactive state of 1 appears to be its π,π* singlet state making its behavior more like that of the corresponding hydrocarbon parent.