Past exam of the chemistry A course of the University of Cambridge / 2024 / Paper 2 / A7 / c / iv

The negative activation volume means the transition state occupies less partial molar volume than the two separated reactants. Pressure therefore favours reaching it and increases the forward rate, consistent with a compact associative cycloaddition in which new bonds begin to form.

The magnitude, about $25\mathrm{c}{\mathrm{m}}^3\mathrm{mo}{\mathrm{l}}^{-1}$, is molecular in scale. It includes packing and solvent reorganization as well as intrinsic bond-length changes, so it should not be interpreted as a simple geometric volume carved out of two rigid molecular surfaces.