Does one hydrogen atom and one oxygen atom bond to make an HO molecule?

Question

or does it have to be two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen?

when atoms bond do all the atoms have to have complete outer shells?

Answer 1

The first answer is correct.

To the previous answerer, they don't share protons, they share electrons.

Answer 2

When atoms bond, normally they share protons to complete each other's outer shells, but there are exceptions where stable molecules are formed otherwise. As for OH, OH is normally produced by the spltting of water in solution. Water is of course H20, but water can also be broken into ionic H and OH when substances are dissolved in water. The dissolved ions can bond with the OH or the H ions, leaving a surplus of the other. The PH scale is used to indicate the acidity, i.e. the quantity of ionic hydrogen in the water.

Answer 3

It has to bond with two hydrogen atoms because the oxygen atom would still be unsatisfied, because it would be unstable.

As for polyatomic ions, OH is oxide, so I guess it's possible, but in nature, the oxygen would try to bond with another hydrogen to become stable.