The present invention relates to compounds represented by the following Formula I,in which R1-R6 can each independently be selected from
hydrogen or hydrocarbyl (e.g., methyl); L1 is a
divalent linking group, such as a bond or —OC(O)—R8—C(O)O—, where R8 can be
divalent hydrocarbyl (e.g., —CH2CH2—); each L2 independently represents a flexible segment, such as
divalent linear or branched C1-C25
alkyl; each L3 independently represents a rigid segment including, for example, optionally substituted phenylen-1,4-diyl groups; t is from 1 to 4; m and p are each independently from 0 to 4 for each t, provided that the sum of m and p is at least 1 for each t; and E can be
hydrogen or hydrocarbyl. The present invention also relates to compositions, such as
liquid crystal compositions, and articles, such as optical elements, that include the compound represented by Formula I.