A new surfactant-templated carbon material, carbon nanofoam (CNF), has been synthesized with a sernicrystalline and conductive framework, high surface area and interconnected porous structure, and prepared in a wide variety of bulk shapes and forms. CNF was also successfully applied as a support for palladium in the Heck coupling reaction. Pd/CNF catalyst exhibited negligible Pd cluster growth and agglomeration, and retained high activity even after multiple runs.