Polymers Polymers are large molecules composed of smaller molecules called monomers. Monomers are produced and either grow together or are assembled to produce a single polymer. There are synthetic and natural polymers. Some examples of natural polymers would be wood, starches, fingernails, and hair. Synthetic polymers are usually referred to as plastics. Petroleum is the primary monomer used to produce polymers. An English chemist named Alexander Parkes was the first scientist to produce the first synthetic polymer in 1862. John Wesley Hyatt, an American, was the first person to produce a useable polymer two years later. He named the product celluloid.