I was wondering if I could have the bond energy and enthalpy of formation in kJ/mol for $\ce{CH2(OH)2}$?
I honestly searched the Internet and my textbook and I couldn't find it. I'm sure I could have missed it somewhere but nevertheless I need to calculate the energy produced by the reaction of $\ce{CH2O}$ and $\ce{H2O}$.
If someone could give me that info that would be exceedingly helpful.
Firstly, regarding the bond energy, you will have to specify exactly what bond you are talking about, you can't ask for the bond energy of a compound because compounds have many bonds. This doesn't apply for diatomics (for example, you can ask what the bond energy of $\ce{N2}$ is; although that is loose usage of terminology, the meaning is clear). But methanediol is obviously not a diatomic.
Secondly, from what I understand, you need to find the enthalpy change for the hydration of formaldehyde: $\ce{CH2O_{\;(aq)} + H2O_{\;(l)} -> CH2(OH)2_{\;(aq)}}$ and your approach was to find the enthalpies of formation of the individual compounds. That's a good idea and more often than not, it works because enthalpies of formation are widely tabulated and easy to find. But it's often worthwhile just searching for the enthalpy change of the reaction you are interested in, especially if it is a relatively well-known or simple reaction (like this one). Anyway, this recent paper gives the value of $\Delta _{\text{r}}H$ for the reaction above as $-39.0 \text{ kJ mol}^{-1}$.
