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Co 9 S 8 nanoparticles embedded in two dimensional/three dimensional (2D/3D) porous carbon foams are synthesized from carbonized melamine foam (CMF) @Co-ZIF-L. Due to the vertical-growth of 2D Co-ZIF-L on the carbonized 3D melamine foam wires, abundant meso- and macropores are formed among Co-ZIF-L nanosheets with sufficient micropores created from the carbonization of ZIF-L; thus 2D/3D carbon foam with hierarchical pores can be obtained. Meanwhile, Co 9 S 8 nanoparticles are formed and uniformly dispersed into porous carbon, and such carbon wrapping can effectively alleviate the volume expansion of metal sulfide; thus high electrochemical performance can be achieved. For example, the specific capacity is as high as 615 mAh g−1 at 500 mA g−1 after 450 cycles, much higher than that of pristine CMF (79.5 mAh g−1). Moreover, due to the excellent flexibility of carbonized melamine foam, such composite can be directly used as free-standing binder-free electrode for lithium ion batteries, which exhibits great potential to be used in wearable electronics. • Co 9 S 8 nanoparticles were embedded in 2D/3D porous carbon foam. • The hybrid composite can be used as free-standing electrode. • The unique porous structure effectively alleviates the volume expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]